New Terra: The Second Season (Volume 2 of the New Terra Trilogy)

Chapter VI: Deceptions

Why does Honey Radcliffe, the Queen of New Terra, still trust the word of an insane criminal who's lied to her before? Is she desperate, oblivious, or something else?
The New Terrans should devise a plan to validate Fink's claims before they blindly run into trouble. It'll give them a much clearer perspective of how to play their hand.
I'll keep in touch.
---
Queen Radcliffe stopped in front of the aircraft that planned to take her to Los Angeles. Mai, Lafayette, and Basileus followed in her wake.
"Basileus, you're supposed to be with Avi," Queen Radcliffe told the Brii.
"Avi told me to be with you," Basileus countered. "The Romero Twins aren't accompanying us, so he wanted to even out the teams."
"Why aren't the Romero Twins accompanying us?" Queen Radcliffe asked. She gave Mai a nervous look.
"They're investigating 'time pockets'," Mai informed Queen Radcliffe. "Time pockets can allow whoever's manipulating them to see into the past and future. The Romero Twins think that's why Fink is constantly a step ahead of us."
"Why didn't they tell me?" Queen Radcliffe continued.
"You're not the only Queen now," Mai said, patting Queen Radcliffe on the shoulder. She laughed and climbed into the aircraft.
Queen Radcliffe, Lafayette, and Basileus climbed into the back of the aircraft as Eleanor started it up from the cockpit.
"Hey, Mai," Queen Radcliffe whispered, sitting across from her. "So- what are we?"
"Dating?" Mai said. "We never really established this, did we?"
Lafayette cleared her throat and grabbed the hilt of her katana, which she stored in a sheath behind her back. "Focus on the mission," she said. "The lovey-dovey crap can wait."
Eleanor took off from The New Terran Castle and headed towards Los Angeles. The New Terrans rode in the back of the aircraft in total silence.
After a half-hour of silence, Eleanor gained the New Terrans' attention. "We're over California now," she called. "Dropping in one minute."
Queen Radcliffe looked over at Lafayette, who stared out of a window. Her eyes slowly grew wider as she fixed her eyes on an object down below. "Eleanor, watch out!" She yelled.
Eleanor sharply turned the aircraft as a rocket narrowly flew by. A second rocket flew directly below it and changed its course to hit the aircraft.
"Damnit!" Mai screamed. "Brace for impact!"
"Hug the starboard side!" Eleanor called.
The aircraft spiraled down dozens of feet before crash landing onto the ground. It slid on its left side, sending the New Terrans flying to the ground. The New Terrans painfully climbed out of the wreckage.
"I'm fine," Queen Radcliffe told the others, helping Basileus out of the wreckage. "How do you guys feel?"
"I'm fine, too," Basileus said.
"Nothing's broken, so I'll count my blessings," Mai said.
"I'm alright, my Queen," Eleanor said.
Lafayette stretched out her limbs and nodded. She looked off into the distance and pointed. "Who the hell is that?" She asked.
Queen Radcliffe looked over to where Lafayette was pointing. She noticed that she wasn't in Los Angeles; instead, she stood atop a small mountain overlooking a town. A man covered his face with the brim of his cowboy hat as he walked towards the New Terrans.
"What's he carrying?" Mai asked. "Looks big."
Lafayette narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to catch a better glimpse of the man. "Oh fuck..." she murmured, color draining from her face. "That's a rocket launcher. He's the one who shot us down."
Queen Radcliffe put a hand on one of her pistols. She walked towards the man in a courageous manner. "Who are you?" She called once the man was in earshot. "What do you want?"
"Welcome to Tijuana!" The man said, mirroring Queen Radcliffe by putting his hand on the grip of a holstered revolver at his side. "I'm Rubio."
"Are you working for Fink de Luca, Rubio?"
"That I am."
Queen Radcliffe pulled out both of her pistols and pointed them at Rubio. The other New Terrans some their weapons at Rubio. "He told us you had control of a nuclear missile in Los Angeles," Queen Radcliffe told Rubio. "Lead us to it."
Rubio began to snicker before he threw his head back in a hearty laugh. "You believed that son of a bitch?" He asked. "He lied. He told you a deception."
Queen Radcliffe walked forward and placed the barrel of one of her pistols on Rubio's forehead. "Tell us the truth," she commanded.
Rubio snickered and looked down at his shoes. Then, as quick as light, he whipped out his revolver and fired a bullet into Queen Radcliffe's leg. She fell to the ground as Rubio ran away.
"Damnit!" Queen Radcliffe yelled, picking herself up. The New Terrans began to chase after Rubio, who did his best to try and disappear.
"Where is he?" Mai asked. "I'm gonna pump lead into that asshole!"
Lafayette looked around at the terrain. Without a word to the others, she pulled out her katana and made pursuit of Rubio. Lafayette jumped over boulders and plants, following an invisible trail until she saw Rubio below her. He looked up and made eye contact with Lafayette before diving behind a boulder.
Lafayette ran down to Rubio and jumped on top of the boulder he hid behind. Rubio sat there, pointing the tip of a rocket launcher at Lafayette. "You made a mistake," he taunted.
Lafayette jumped off of the boulder, barely missing the rocket that Rubio shot out.
"You made a mistake," Lafayette told Rubio, hiding behind the opposite side of the boulder. "Now the others know where we are."
"You'll be dead by the time they get here," Rubio told Lafayette.
Lafayette got up and ran around the boulder. Rubio got his pistol and shot at Lafayette, who deflected it with her katana. Rubio fired four more bullets at Lafayette, who reflected all four.
"You've got one bullet," Lafayette said.
Rubio pointed his revolver at Lafayette and pressed the trigger, to no effect. "What the hell?" He asked, studying his gun.
"I lied," Lafayette told Rubio. "I thought you would remember shooting a Queen."
Without hesitation, Lafayette threw her katana at Rubio like a javelin. It impaled him to the ground, causing him to start coughing up blood.
"Tell me all that you know about Fink de Luca," Lafayette commanded, kneeling down next to Rubio. "Or else."
"Or else what?" Rubio asked in an airy tone. "We're all going to Hell anyway. Why delay it?"
Lafayette showed Rubio her prosthetic arm. "Fink cut my arm off," Lafayette said. "He also cut off my leg and my eye. I promise that if you don't give me answers, I'll do a hell lot more to you."
Rubio spat blood into Lafayette's face. "Fuck you," he muttered. "You have no idea what Fink's about to do to us all."
Lafayette sighed before angrily forcing her arm into Rubio's chest. "Consider this a favor," she said. In one swift move, she ripped Rubio's heart out of his body.
"Oh my God," Lafayette whispered, running the fingers of her other hand through her hair. "What did I just do? I... I..."
Lafayette dropped Rubio's heart onto the ground and stared at her bloody arm. Her entire body began to tremble as she began to cry.
Footsteps rang out from behind Lafayette. She swiftly pulled her katana out of Rubio's body and pointed it in the direction of the footsteps. "Step back, Basileus!" She commanded, carefully pronouncing every syllable in a shaky voice.
"Everything is fine," Basileus told Lafayette, holding his hands high up in the air. "I won't hurt you."
"Then why is there a gun in your hand?"
Basileus dropped the pistol in his right hand. "Aváli gave me that pistol when we came to rescue you, Eleanor, and Queen Devereaux."
Basileus slowly walked towards Lafayette, his hands staying in the air. He reached Lafayette and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Lafayette began to sob, dropped her katana, and buried her head in Basileus' shoulder. Basileus wrapped his arms around her.
"I've never p-prolonged a kill... at least, not for that l-long," she sobbed. "Bas... Basileus, what did I just do?"
"Could you tell me what led to this point?" Basileus calmly asked.
"Rubio wouldn't g-give me information, so I... I impaled him. He still wouldn't b-budge, and I... I... I ripped his heart out, Basileus! His d-death should have been quicker..."
"It's okay," Basileus told Lafayette. "There are some organisms in this world and others that shouldn't be graced with the life that they have. Rubio was one of those organisms. He was willing to take innocent lives for his own monetary gain. Do you really believe he's of any value?"
"We could have ch-changed him," Lafayette said, calming down. "I mean, look at me! The only reason I worked for Queen Radcliffe in the first place is the same reason why Rubio worked for Fink! Both of us were tasked with killing p-people for money!"
"But you were willing to be a force for good," Basileus countered. "We can talk about this later. Eleanor and Queen Devereaux are tending to Queen Radcliffe's leg. We'll need to call an aircraft to pick us up and bring us back to the New Terran Castle."
Lafayette nodded and picked up her katana. "This never happened, okay?" She asked. "Don't think that was a bonding experience. I don't have any special feelings for those on my acquaintance list. You're one of those acquaintances."
Basileus picked up his pistol and followed Lafayette. The two walked in silence until the reached the other New Terrans.
---
Avi landed The Bird down in Los Angeles and ran to meet up with Queen Radcliffe, whose led was leaning against Mai. The two Queens walked side-by-side toward Avi. "There wasn't any trouble in Mexico City," he informed Queen Radcliffe.
"There was trouble here," Queen Radcliffe said, "but not the trouble we expected. Fink lied to us."
"What happened to your leg?" Avi asked. "Did you get shot? And what happened to your aircraft?" Avi pointed to the burning piece of metal in the distance.
"We were attacked by some hitman named Rubio. Bastard shot me in the leg before taking off. Lafayette killed him, but she's pretty shaken up from it."
Avi nodded solemnly. "Let me know when you want to head back to the New Terran Castle."
Avi sat down far away from the New Terrans. He stared down at Tijuana in with saddened eyes.
Lafayette sat next to him and followed his gaze to the city below. "Avi?" She asked.
"Yeah?"
"There's something wrong with me."
"What do you mean?"
Lafayette sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating her thoughts. "I'm supposed to be a cold-blooded killer. And yet... after all these years of doing it, I'm starting to feel remorse."
"And what made you feel this?" Avi asked.
"Killing the son of a bitch that shot Queen Radcliffe in the leg. I was... I was brutal. I wasn't myself. And now... now I'm starting to feel the consequences of my actions. I'm one of the biggest sinners you're ever going to meet."
"We'll make a saint out of you yet," Avi told Lafayette. "The difference between you and other sinners is that you're willing to repent. Feeling remorse for those you kill is okay. If you don't... then you're not even human.
"All you need to do is learn how to live with yourself. I've been killing people since the day my daughter was born. She's almost twenty years old now. And yet, I can live with myself.
"I can live with myself because I know I kill people for a reason. You're part of the New Terran Army now, Lafayette. You're in this because you deserve to be. And that remorse you're feeling? It's the sinner inside of you dying. It's you wishing that others had seen the light, like you had. So don't let it bother you; the remorse is just part of life."
Lafayette sat in silence once more. "How old are you?" She asked.
"I'm old enough to be your father," Avi answered. "Why?"
"You seem like an excellent father," Lafayette told Avi. "I've never seen someone so kind as to act as if everyone is his child."
"Everyone deserves a little bit of love," Avi said. "Some people never had love from their parents when they grew up."
"Like me," Lafayette solemnly stated.
"What was life like for you as a child?" Avi hesitantly asked.
"My father had a lot of addictions, and my mother was ever around," Lafayette started. "She married another man and never came to see me ever again. My father spent the majority of his paycheck on booze, marijuana, and sex. I starved frequently as a child because he never wanted to go shopping for food.
"I picked up hunting because of him. I sharpened a stick and used it like a sword. Using that, I learned how to kill animals. Then, I would start a fire, cook the animal's meat, and eat it. That's the only way I could survive."
"What do you plan on doing after all of this is over?" Avi asked. "After we kill Fink?"
"I don't know," Lafayette said. "I could go to my hometown of Dublin, but I have no place to settle down."
"You could stay with Huntress and I," Avi offered. "If you're, you know... okay with that."
"I wouldn't want to invade your household like that," Lafayette countered. "I'm fine. Plus, I've never met your wife before."
Avi smiled and cheerfully told Lafayette the story of Valencia in a positive manner. Lafayette wrapped her arm around Avi and brought him closer to her. "I'm sorry," she said. "Truly."
Lafayette looked down at Tijuana and sighed. "I was telling Basileus earlier that I don't have friends, and that I don't bond with acquaintances. But, after getting to sit down with you, that may start to change."