Eyes glazing, I inhale her scent as she shakes in my arms. It was close, too close, and we both know it. For the last seven years, we set out on a thousand dream adventure—mostly mine—and not once has she complained. We fought as often as we fucked. We moved twelve times, dodged bullets, lost friends, fought the good fight, together, and mostly side by side—which was the biggest fight of all. We struggled, felt defeated, rallied, and came back swinging. We utilized our position in every imaginable way, going head-to-head with the biggest threats, mostly corrupt corporations and media conglomerates controlled by deep state. With Cecelia’s help, Molly implemented several programs and passed numerous bills to give aid to those less fortunate.
We fought hard, and it’s been fucking bloody, but we’ve managed to accomplish a lot—and mostly come out unscathed. Preston reigned both his terms with an iron fist, and with the government’s backing and the support of the people, we managed to take out a good amount of trash. My sole focus over the last seven years was to flush out the terrorists who became notorious during Preston’s second year in office. Adversaries who made themselves known to me as I sat on the couch in Virginia years ago during our snow day. When the hairs on my neck rose, and that familiar zing struck me like a bolt of lightning, I knew, I fucking knew that I would make it my mission to rid the world of them even if I had to hunt them down and eradicate them myself.
And two days ago, with the help of the US military, we assassinated the five heads responsible for the movement before we immobilized and imprisoned the rest of the key players. And with that war officially over and the bullets coming too close for comfort, and a long exchanged look with my brothers as we all let out a sigh of relief when we made it into the air, we concluded that the war we waged years ago was over for us as well.
We’d done our part, risked our lives, and the lives of those we loved long enough taking back control of a corrupted government. We won far too many battles to consider our efforts a failure. And what we fought for were the people we once were and will become again, world citizens—Cecelia, the daughter of a single, struggling mother, and me, an orphan left in the wake of a greedy white-collar emperor who turned out to be a man with a heart a lot like mine. Our worlds collided as those people, and since, we’ve manifested a different reality. One that we worked a lifetime toward.
We have enough birds up to continue our legacy or let it die out—the choice is theirs.
The sad truth is, there’s already a new and unseen threat coming because there will always be more. No one can rule the world. In good versus evil, there will always be two sides, an opposition.
“Tobias, does this mean what I think it means?” Her blue eyes search mine for answers as to why we’re here, and she knows, but I know she needs the words.
“It means we’re in negotiations,” I whisper hoarsely. “I’m sorry, Trésor. I’m sorry I scared you.”
She pulls away, and I can clearly see the worry I’ve caused—small black rings under her eyes.
“Sean?” She asks, her voice shaking, too afraid of the answer as she runs her hands up and down my chest.
“He’s fine. He’ll be landing in Charlotte in a few hours. He’s going to make a full recovery. Everyone’s okay.”
She nods, her posture relaxing substantially as her hands continue to roam. “Okay.” She bobs her head. “Okay.”
“I told you this was going to be—”
“Doesn’t make it easier! After seven fucking years of this, I’m losing my mind! Tobias, our luck is going to run out one day soon—you narrowly made it out of this one. How many times do you have to risk your own neck to see your crazy plans through?” She shrieks all of this out, examining me like I just fell off the jungle gym in a schoolyard. She brushes over the cut beneath my eye, and I grip her hand before kissing the back of it.
“We got them, Cecelia. We got them. We did it, baby.”