Legacy // H.S

44.

'It's a new dawn

It's a new day

It's a new life

For me'

*

The Heist. Part One.

In the early hours of the morning, London is like a ghost town. Only the souls of those that have passed walk the streets, remembering the lives they once had in the city that became their home. Sometimes, probably under the influence of drugs and alcohol, people convince you they can see them too. Faceless figures or slow-moving people. No one ever truly leaves the city, no one ever truly sleeps in it, either.

Every now and again, a bird will fly over, and you'll be reminded of the energy that usually exists in the capital. Down the road, the waves of the Thames make themselves known. Maybe there will be a breeze or wind that causes the leaves to rush down the paths from the trees on which they've fallen from.

It always marks the end of one day and the start of the next. Winding down and coming back up.

But for the most part, the quiet settles, with a new dawn beginning as the sun tries to peak through the clouds and push the moon down.

In our vehicles, however, we are buzzing with life.

Breathing in oxygen like someone would inject a drug, because to us, being alive is the greatest high we can chase. Being alive and choosing what we wish to do with our days, knowing we have that autonomy, knowing that the world is ours to take. That is what noise is. It's taking back what's yours.

That's been our aim over the past two weeks. Reclaiming everything we've lost.

In the days after capturing Hugo and finally putting a stop to his war, the air has settled with a type of calmness none of us have ever really been accustomed to. Walking down the street without looking over our shoulders, planning things for a future we know is certain now, accepting that maybe life doesn't need to be filled with sleepless nights and sorrowful notes written to those we might leave behind. It is like stepping out into the sun after spending years in the darkness.

We allowed ourselves time to get used to it, not just the immediate members of the Municipal but those that have helped us along the way. Claude's team, even the gangs that have joined our ranks. Some of us had to heal, both mentally and physically, and others just needed to remind themselves why they did it in the first place, and what it means for them now.

The other threats that allied themselves with Hugo Charles have since been neutralised, and the gangs of London have been left to sort their hierarchies out amongst themselves. It was never our place to encroach on that, but now they have a new landscape to build, an order to make.

As for our team, we're ready for the next chapter.

There is a hunger that has become unsatiable as of late. Reminding ourselves what we want and how easily we can take it. Remembering what brought us together in the first place.

This heist, the Crown Jewels, the Cullinan Diamonds – this is our purpose, our ambition, our life. And it's finally time to do it. To chase the stars the way we were always supposed to.

Frustratingly, it was pushed back a week on account of the events that occurred with Hugo and Santine. Our plans were thought through, elements added, and some of us needed to rest so we had the most energy on the day. My body is still bruised, cuts and scars littering the skin across every inch of it. My wounds are slowly healing, though, bandaged and checked every day while I adjust to simple things like walking, bathing, sleeping, without finding myself in agonising pain. Still, two weeks later, I walk with a limp and curse every time I have to clean the wounds on my back, but knowing they were the last I had to endure, the certainty that came with stopping Hugo, makes it somewhat bearable. I've still trained, even in my time away from the warehouse, and I'm capable of doing what I was brought here to do.