Reborn Heart of Steel

We walked through the towns where almost all the buildings were closed shut and there was very little movement. Walking, I tried to remember everything that happened during the night and an odd feeling of failure. How had The Raven known we were going to be coming? Maybe we erred, left something that revealed everything we had in mind? Or was there some little factor lurking behind these rival conjectures? I knew he had a hint of our movements, but we had been extra careful this time around, taking all the necessary precautions. My thoughts were cut short as we arrived at what was, indeed, a long decaying church on the old outskirts of town. The stones with which it had been built were eroding, vines grew on its outer surface and painted glass windows that used to sparkle were broken. Chase stared at me dubiously. “A church? Really?” I just said ‘oh well’, and stepped towards a small door that was located, almost camouflaged by the vegetation just to the side of the path. ‘It has been closed for years, mom used to take me here when I was a child back before…’ I did not continue saying the rest of the ‘before’ part thinking of mom and how much she has been ruling my life after her death. I could sense that Chase got what I was saying and nodded; his hand enveloping mine, and we entered the house. Every corner of the church walls was covered with dust, and the air was stale. The wooden furniture in the church seemed like it had not been used for about a decade. But it was dry and, above all, had the curious solidity of the American law which did not allow others to peep into one’s life. We went into a small room that was perhaps used as a storeroom long ago when the church had not been divided into so many sections. It was small, but could be used for now. At last, we tiptoed in and got our bearings; the night’s events overwhelmed me. I sat down on the floor with my head in my hands and my back against the wall. Finally, the tears I’d been suppressing filled my eyes, and I was crying rather convulsively. Chase was there in an instant, his arms pulling me close as I compressed myself. “Shh, don’t cry, it’s okay,” he whispered, almost cutting himself in the silence, his voice trembled with the emotion that he hadn’t allowed himself to show. “We are going to solve this. We are going to return Alessandro. ” And there, I am not sure how long, and knowing I should not be, we just stayed there holding one another in the dark. After that, tears still gushed down my face and after a while I was panting and drained of all energy. “What are we going to do?” Chase was tense for a moment, his long fingers drawing designs on my skin absently. “We need help,” he said at last. “I think we are way beyond our heads now, Bri… we are overwhelmed and can no longer handle it on our own. ” I knew that he was right, and yet, to make it hurt less, I couldn’t help but say it. We had been so eager not to involve the grown-ups in this, and so keen to deal with The Raven ourselves. But look where that had gotten us. “Agent Harris,” I said, recalling the card he had offered to us. “He said to call if things went down,” Chase said, repeating the words of the Agent.

Chase nodded. ‘It is dangerous. ‘ He may just arrest us on the spot. But… “But it might be our only chance of saving Alessandro,” I said, to bring the discussion to an end. Once again, we reverted to that silent mode where we sat quietly, each of us having a mind of our own. The load of our status bore heavily on me and I struggled to draw a breath. How did the world come to such a pass? In point of fact, we have just been ordinary high school kids going through ordinary lives. A little while ago, our concerns had been limited to trials way beyond us.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

And now we were on the run from one of the most dangerous criminal groups in the city. Sitting up with aching muscles and a pounding head which the rusty springs of the sofa and the less than fragrant depths of the bottle had contributed to, I knew what I had to do. “We’ll call Agent Harris,” I said, managing to sound more composed than I actually was. “But not yet. We must prepare a strategy which we will use to bargain. ” ‘Give me that,’ said Chase, looking at me with both worry and envy in his face. “What are you thinking?”.

I inhaled deeply and consciously prepared to make the suggestion that I was about to make. “The Raven is anting up for something big, something that FBI is concerned about as well, what if… what if we could discover what it is?” When I said that Hunt should get a face-lift, Chase’s eyes registered the implication immediately. “You want to attack The Raven directly? Bri, that’s crazy. Go there and die. “Maybe,” I conceded. “But it may be our only chance ever to get him on the wrong side of the law”, “And if we could nail him, then we would have the bait to bargain Alessandro’s freedom and perhaps the means of nailing The Raven once and for all. ” Chase stood still for a moment, his face adorned by deep concentration. Finally, he nodded slowly. “It’s insanity. But we’re agreed it could be the only way of achieving what we need to. Where does this begin?” I rose and dusted my clothes I had put on today, then looked at the giant man in front of me. A new determination surfaced to counter the fear and fatigue that was very obvious in the team. “Thus we proceeded as the following: we acted. We search. And we probe on and on until we dredge up what we want. ” When we started to brainstorm and toss ideas to each other, I started to have the light at the end of the tunnel. In this scenario, people cowered battered, exhausted, and appeared to have fallen short of one of the team’s basic requirements the presence of a full team. But we weren’t beaten. Not yet. Alas, what we did not know was that our difficulties were far from over. Soon, Chase’s phone chimed “Help me” along with a location. He showed me

“Could it be a trap” Chase asked.

“I don’t care”, I sprang up and we both dashed for the door.

After a while, at some distance, we found Alessandro bleeding in a poorly illuminated chamber. He narrated what transpired.

” Alessandro came in. He felt as if his head was going to burst, he could taste the blood that filled his mouth. It was only when the young man’s vision came back to him that he realized he was secured to a chair and facing a group of severe-looking men clad in black suits. He came closer and a figure emerged from the darkness; Alessandro felt a shiver run down his spine. The man had a mask of the head of a raven, and what seemed to be the beak was glinting ominously in the dimness. “Hello young man,” replied The Raven, extending a hand that was well manicured with polished gentleman-like hazel eyes. “We have quite a lot of matters to talk about when it comes to your friends. ” Hearing this, Alessandro tensed himself up not to look frightened. ‘I won’t tell you anything,’ he muttered angrily.

The Raven laughed and that sent a chill down the spine of Alessandro. “Oh, I am sure you will. Of course, I have my ways of forcing people to speak. But, as far as Brianne and her gang of vigilantes is concerned, I am extremely eager to hear. ” As soon as Alessandro could say something in reply, the door was flung open. The heavy door swung open, and one of The Raven’s men hurried in, his complexion the color of wax as if he had received dire news. “Sir,” he said, now turning to The Raven. “We just got the information the FBI is raiding the warehouse on the south side they are aware of the shipment. ” Raven suddenly furrowed and then stiffened, one leg drawn up, shoulder against his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, he returned his attention to Alessandro and his face was again totally impassive. “I suppose our conversation will need to be postponed,” he said, his words very cold with fury. “That is your job; take him to a secure location where anything that he do cannot cause trouble. ” When the men began to get up, Alessandro was seized with a sudden fear. They grappled hand to hand; he fought the ropes because he understood this was his opportunity. That was when he got the opportunity and sent us the message.

Finally, sensing a moment of weakness among them, he was able to push one of the men to the floor. The guard tripped, and his gun went standing with a thud on the floor. It became as if time itself fell into a vacuum, and nothing truly important happened. Alessandro tried to grab it but failed to get his hand close to the hilt of the weapon. Next, there was a very loud bang which went up, as if the air had been rent asunder. A shooting pain started from his shoulder and radiated towards the rest of his body. The pain was hot and intense. He staggered back and everything began to whiten as the blood warmed across his chest and enveloped him.

Soon they all heard a siren and all of them ran away.

I thought to myself, it was good we called Agent Harris.

“Take him up, we are taking him to the hospital. And this is the final warning, “Stay out of this!” Agent Harris’ voice echoed all over.”