The Horsemen: Himawari's Arrival Part 3

Chapter 10: Rossiyskiye Tragedii

Volga River, Volgograd

"Richard, a bunch of Network troopers over there!" Casey yelled out.

"They friendly?" I asked as we made a quick dash towards the river.

"I don't wanna find out." Spring mumbled quietly under her breath, but it was loud enough for me to hear.

The large airship above the city was firing at the ground at the park less than a kilometer away, causing widespread panic to everyone around us. Pandemonium ensued and several people were running for their lives around us. The Network forces spotted us.

"Over there! Open fire!" One of them yelled.

"Hey wait, no!" I yelled back.

Suddenly a masked woman jumped over us, firing a crossbow strapped to her arm at the Network troopers, taking them all down instantly. Her blue hair was tied into a convenient pony tail and she wore a long brown coat that covered much of her torso.

"Woah." Casey stepped back a bit.

"You must be one of the Andersons." Yana breathed out in relief. "You came just in time."

"The Russian Division is going to destroy the whole city trying to destroy the Garden," I said. "We need to stop them!"

"Sorry kids, but the Network's gonna have to keep doing that," The woman said, still faced away from us.

"What? How could you say that?" I asked, bewildered.

"So that the Network will no longer exist in mainland Asia without getting blood on its hands."

The woman suddenly jumped, landing on top of a street lamp.
"The name's Bellflower." She introduced herself, glancing at the panicked people who were running away in fear from the airship. "Today, the Network's Russian Division will die, whether because of us, you, the other divisions, or the government."

"Y-you...this was your plan all along!" I stared at her wide eyed in realization.

Bellflower giggled softly to herself. "There's no changing the outcome. The only difference is who deals the final strike."

She abruptly changed her posture and jumped so high she reached one of the rooftops, out of our sight.

"Crap, this was their plan all along," Casey said. I felt myself becoming uneasy at the situation we faced.

"The Garden has always been cunning and decisive. This is no exception." Spring tugged on my shoulder to get my attention. "However, depending on who stops the Russian Division, we may be able to salvage the political situation."

"What do you mean, Spring-sama?" Yana asked.

"Think about it. If the Garden defeats them, they'll be portrayed more as heroes who helped stop a reckless Network army from unleashing terror on the country." Spring pointed out. "If the government does it, best case scenario is that they condemn both sides. Worst case scenario being they ally with the Garden since the Network did majority of the damage."

"The other two outcomes?" Casey asked.

"If the Network reinforcements that Agent Avery said were coming from the Imperial Division and the Atlantic Division put an end to the Russian Division, at worst case scenario the Network would be humiliated for allowing this tragic incident to happen. At best case scenario, we manage to prove the Garden was somehow responsible for the out of character attack."

"And if we stop them?" I raised an eyebrow.

"There's no real change with the Network outcome, but internally we might be able to prove that we as a group could actually be of use." Spring poked my chest. "We can prove to Agent Avery we're more than just...kids."