Frauds

Chapter 4

Aniyah had no clue how she was even meant to react. Was she meant to be happy that her friend from so long ago had actually returned? Was she meant to be mad for him being here after their business with the group was over?

"Let go of me." she said instead, her voice neither excited nor mad but something closer to indifference.

Ismail let go of her instantly, taking place on her bed instead.

"So, is there any particular reason why you broke into my house at one in the morning and came up to my room while I was asleep?" Her fist clenched and unclenched as her eyes studied the calm Ismail that was sat on her bed, twiddling her duvet in his hands.

"I'll get straight to the point. The Protectors got in a bit of a sticky situation a few weeks back with La Morte again."

At the mention of La Morte, Aniyah's blood ran cold. The last time the group got involved with them, it ended up in 4 dead and countless injured.

It ended up with Rider, also known as Damon, loosing all his memories from before he was 14.

She didn't want to take him seriously. She wanted him to burst out laughing, hoping that this was one of his practical jokes.

"You still call them the Protectors? You know how lame that sounds right?" Aniyah said with a fake giggle, trying to hide her unease behind a wall of deceit.

"You call them the group. Not much better." Yet even whilst saying this, Ismail didn't crack a smile. "We're really down on men at the minute. Even with the Eagle on our side now, we haven't got much choice but to round up old members."

Aniyah let out a dry chuckle.

"So we were never really free, were we."

Ismail decided not to answer, returning to twiddling his fingers in her bed sheets.

"Go to school like usual. The mission starts right after school. I'll pick you up to meet the others."

"Does that mean I'll be seeing the Captain again?" Aniyah knew that if she saw the Captain again, god knew what she was going to do. Broken promises were something that didn't sit well with her and this was no longer a one time thing.

"You didn't hear? What, Anna-Mai and Joseph never told you?"

Now it was Ismail's turn to look at her confused. Had no one really told her what happened?

Aniyah looked at Ismail, waiting for him to elaborate.

"The Captain, he died a few weeks ago trying to fight La Morte's leader, Rayan."

His eyes sunk as his frown deepened when he said those words, not sure if Aniyah was going to take the news well or not. Back when they were in the Protectors together, Aniyah looked up to the Captain so much, even when he broke her trust. He could never understand how she had so much blind trust in the Captain when in the end, he was human just like the rest of them.

A group of men ready to fight for the well-being of Ripley.

For the second time of the night, Aniyah didn't know how to how to react. Her gut felt empty, not prompting her to react in any one way or another.

It was weird for her, not knowing how to feel when back in the group, she'd always know exactly how she felt. Everything was black and white. She was either happy or sad, maybe angry maybe betrayed but she'd never felt like this before. She'd never felt nothing.

Ismail watched her, waiting for her to lash out. Never mind, he waited for her to do anything but her eyes stayed light and her mouth stayed natural. She didn't care.

This was going to work out well for Ismail. If she didn't care about the captain, there was more chance she'd be willing to help his fight against La Morte.

"Ok, count me in. Are Anna-Mai and Joseph aware of what's going on?"

"They're nearing their 50's now, they wouldn't be much use to us anyways so no, they aren't aware of what's going on."

Ismail quickly whipped his head to the side, like he'd heard something coming from outside of Aniyah's window.

"Aniyah, don't bring anything extra other than your school books. Leave them in your locker at the end of the day. I would tell you to bring your pistol but if anyone found it, you don't know the heaps of trouble you'd be in. If you feel anything is off for the rest of your night, don't be scared to give my phone a ring." He threw a burner phone at her, the only number on there belonging to Ismail. "I don't know if there's anyone following me but I needed you in on this as quick as possible. I'll see you tomorrow in the car with all tinted windows."

That was definitely illegal and Aniyah knew it yet knowing the group and how closely they worked with the police two years back, she knew that they probably got the green light for it.

Ismail left a quick peck on Aniyah's cheek to which she shrunk back, cringing before he clambered out of her window effortlessly, closing the window in one quick movement behind him.

She looked out of her window after he'd left, wondering how he got down the two stories without breaking his leg. There were no obvious ways to climb up or down Aniyah's wall. Only Aniyah could have known the ways to scale her wall without breaking a limb or two.

Lying back in her bed, she realised that he had received the same training as she had and that he had practiced it for 8 years, 5 years more than she had.

Pulling out her other burner phone, the one she used to speak to Nancy, she pressed down on her name. It didn't even finish ringing once before Nancy picked up.

"What's up Ni?" Nancy greeted, probably surprised by her calling so late at night. Then again, she was the one that picked up the phone without it having even finished its first ring.

"I need you to start my tracking device. Remember, if I tap on the tracking device once, I'm fine. If I forget to tap it every hour, send in the pulse to remind me to tap. If after that I still don't tap it in, I need you to do what you'd promised me you would do if I was ever in danger."

Aniyah already knew that getting in trouble with La Morte might get her in a lot of tricky situations but if Nancy remembered to follow through on the safety protocol, Aniyah would be saved from the problem.

She walked over to her window, making sure it was closed and locked shut. She really didn't want another unwanted guest in her bedroom while she slept. After barricading the window and climbing into bed, she fell asleep instantly, knowing that tomorrow, she was going to need all the energy she could get.

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a/n: shorter chapter for y'all but a bit more plot than the last chapter was packing.

what do you think Aniyah's going to encounter on her little trip to fighting La Morte?

leave a vote if you think the chapter deserved it :0

have a good night my lovelies <3
(or a good day, depending on where in the world you are)

Lolaalvilivi