Fire and Silk [A Ben Hardy/Four Fanfiction] ON STANDBY

3

"Sorry about Four... and One." Apologized Seven, a beer in his hand.

We had moved from the table to the bar, the place now practically empty. The rest of the Numbers, or rather Ghosts, as Seven informed me of how they called themselves, went home after Four and I's debacle.

            "Don't sweat it. Trust doesn't come easy in these teams, I get it."

He shook his head in denial.

"Thing is, Four is usually the most likable of us all. I just find strange how he reacted towards you." My new friend admitted, rubbing his chin between his fingers.

I shrugged my shoulders. In appearance, I looked detached from the situation, but inside, my mind was racing. The last few days were hard enough to process, tonight's meeting wasn't helping at all.

            "Maybe he doesn't like hackers?" I threw, thinking.

            "Maybe. But, whatever it is, he'll come around."

I nodded in response, taking a sip of my beer. The TV was showing the news, nothing I hadn't heard on the radio for the past days, but there is something about images that resonates much further than anything else.

"Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, has been assassinated in his home. At this particular moment, a coup is being orchestrated by the nation's very own terrorists. Ortega's family has been murdered as a warning for the people. Riots are exploding everywhere around the country..."

"Shit's crazy" Let out Seven, his eyes also fixed on the monitor. "We actually organized a coup too, some time ago."

I looked at him, shocked.

            "What?"

            "Yep. One's brilliant plan to save Turgistan." He chuckled.

            "Wait, you guys were the ones behind that whole crazy shit show?"

He nodded and smiled at the sight of my surprised expression. I had read a lot about the events, but nothing really mentioned a group of vigilantes, which was good for them, I guess.

            "Impressive." I complimented him, my eyes back on the TV.

We kept watching the news together, and let me tell you something, they were all extremely bad. The world was turning into literal Hell, soon enough the number of bad guys would trump the number of good ones.

"Do you want to tell me why you joined us?" He later questioned me as the bar was about to close its doors.

"Guess I've been looking for the right team and... I'm hoping this is it."

"One doesn't let just anybody join. So, you must be really good."

I nodded, a devilish grin on my lips.