Forever: A Life After Legend Fanfic (Marie Lu)

June

Daniel sat beside the kid; I told him to watch as I returned. They were talking to one another as I walked up and gave the order to a different soldier to collect the arrested and bring them to Batalla for questioning.

I go to Daniel, "Anden wants to see us." I say and hop into a nearby jeep. Daniel follows, and I put the Jeep into drive.

"You arrested some of the men," Daniel states. "The one I watched was young, naive."

I look at him as I drive, "It was an inside job..." I murmur, "They will be taken into questioning. I don't think the young kid I made you watch is the brains of this operation, but he is connected. I hope to get more information out of him".

"He seemed scared. Whoever his boss is threatened his mother. I can bet he is more scared of his boss and losing his mom than the Republic law system," Daniel adds.

"I get that feeling too," I murmur and get to Batalla Hall.

It was filled with guards. They salute me as I walk in. Daniel trails behind me. We get to Anden's office, and he calls me in. A bunch of senators and the prince-elect all stand around.

"Your men are out of control!" A senator snaps at me.

I can feel Daniel tense up but not say anything back.

"Enough!" Anden claps back, and the chatter silences, "June, I asked you to take the week off, but since you are here, what did you find?"

"It's an inside job. I have my men questioning the ones we captured. six men were injured, and one was killed." I say calm and clear to the room.

"So it's true, you can't control your men!" The same senator says.

"It's not that I can't control them. They all have minds of their own," I clap back.

"June, do you know who their commanding officer is?" Anden asks.

"All men in question are under Commander Simon. I told my men to bring him in as well. I'm pulling them from duty as we speak".

"Simon?" Anden says, and his eyes widen. "He is at home with Faline, guarding her. He is a close friend of hers."

Everyone looks at me, "I'm calling my men off on trying to find him then. If he sees an army of us showing up, it will put her in danger..."

"Me and June could get her out?" Daniel chimes in.

I look at him. "A small party would be good. I like the idea." I smile and then look at the senators. "my personal men will continue to guard you and your families. We will get this situation under control." I cross my arms and dismiss them so I wouldn't have to hear them complain.

That is something I hated when I was in politics. The bickering and arguing. With the military, it is straight forward: men listen to your commands and don't argue. It was nice. I watch as the senators leave the room with their assigned guards. Daniel leans back in his chair and looks at Anden.

Anden rubs his temples, "She needs to come out unharmed... Faline is four months pregnant," he says.

Me and Daniel look at each other. We were stunned by the news; it was unexpected and couldn't be at a worse time. The news would get out soon about it. Faline and I had grown close and bonded over the crazy world of politics, but as of late, she has been distant and cold.

"We just need a simple lie to say so he won't get suspicious," I say.

"We can say we are over for honeymoon ideas That we made plans to come by to ask for advice?" Daniel suggests.

Anden nods slowly. "I know this is unexpected. But that should work. I will wait here with my guards then".

I nod, "When we get in, we need to expect anything. He is armed. Just like I am."

Daniel drives the Jeep up to the iron gate of Anden's house. It felt weird being here. I had stayed here once. I know the layout and every exit. The windows are bulletproof, and the doors are made of steel. But that was in the past. A past where I could never love Anden.

We start to walk up to the door, and we knock. I look at Daniel, holding his hand, hoping this will work. I had gone and changed out of my uniform to make it look more like I was off duty: jeans and shirt. My gun is still always on my hip.

Simon answers the door," First Commander Iparis," he salutes me. "We weren't expecting visitors." He continues.

"I'm not on duty right now; please, at ease, Commander. We are here to see Faline about honeymoon and newlywed advice." I smile and grab Daniel's hand.

"She's inside, come on," he murmurs, opening the door for us and leading us inside.

I look around. No other soldiers were there. Just him.

Faline comes down the stairs and widens her eyes. "June, it's good to see you!" She throws her arms around me and whispers in almost a fake-like voice, "Help me," in my ear.

I hug her back. "Don't worry, we are here to help."

I look at Daniel as my arms hug her and swipe my brow. He was to protect Faline and get her out if something happened. I pull away and turn towards Simon.

"Simon, you are under arrest for plotting against the Republic of America," I command him.

"I thought you said you were off duty, First Commander," he snaps back and starts to charge at me. Everything becomes a blur. I watch as Daniel opens the door and grabs Faline. She screams as he drags her outside the house.

I move to the side of him as he charges me. He then tries to throw a punch at me. I block him easily, even with him being almost a foot taller than me and weight more than me. We circle each other. He strikes me hard in the shoulder, sending pain through my body. I wince and watch his moves, planning. That's when I see it: he is weak in his left leg. I easily kick it out from underneath him, and he topples to the floor and winces in pain.

"You're a coward," I say as he stands up. I pull my gun from its holster and point it at him.

"No, you are," he claps back angrily and shoves me back against the wall before I can shoot, and I fall, keeping my gun in my hand as the wind is knocked out of me.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls something out. I get up and try to reach for it. I struggle and reach my hand out being weak. Before I can grab it, he hits a button.

A detonator.