Beyond The Sea Blue Light

Friends To The Wicked

Every day, we revise, rewrite, replan. From sunrise to sunset, we gather in the living room, marking out plans on hastily drawn maps. We have to get this right, that's for certain. Still, tension hangs in the air, the last argument weighing heavily on us, never resolved. It's as if everyone has pushed it aside, pretending that it never happened.

Still, Andy seems determined to win. I catch him watching Gerard out of the corner of his eye, like a cat stalking his prey. Gerard knows about it, I'm sure of that. But no one mentions it, the day carrying on as normal. Unease still prickles through me. He has a plan, I'm sure of it. I'm just not sure what it is.

That's not all. Recently, the news has been abuzz. Our little stunt got some publicity—the news is all about how we destroyed the second Facility. I watch the little words scroll by at the bottom of the screen. Terrorists in our own country? They read. Were they right all along?

"After the Attack, we shouldn't have trusted them," the newscaster states. "That was the whole point of the plan, wasn't it? With the Facilities?"

"But are they really terrorists?" Another person asks. "They haven't hurt anyone, not to my knowledge."

"After the Attack, we can't give them the benefit of the doubt."

"But these are different people," the other person says. "We can't hold an entire group responsible for the crimes of one."

The newscaster looks conflicted. "Well, let's hear from the Department itself, shall we?" The camera pans over to the side.

It's not Mr. Styles in the other chair, but some other man. A representative of some sort, it says. "Yes," he says. "It seems as if the measures need to be drastically stepped up. We cannot disclose any information at this time, but we will keep our word and protect all of you like we promised to."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"Well," the man shifts in his chair. "We will be meeting later this week to determine what to do about this. Rest assured, we will keep you safe."

"Folks, here you have it," the newscaster says. "Terrorists or simply misunderstood? In the past, they have hurt people yes, but this new group, called by some as Liberators, doesn't seem to be hurting anyone. Who is right in this argument? Terrorists or Liberators? What's the difference and what do we do about them?" The interview ends there, just as Alex scoops up the remote, shutting off the TV.

"That was useful," he says dryly.

"We should go after them," Andy says. "If we take them all out, then it's done. Don't bother with the last Facility."

"We have no clue where they are meeting," Jack counters. "We know perfectly well where this one is. Anyway, we need to save our people first."

"We know where they are meeting," Andy says. "There are only so many places that can hold that many people." He gestures to the map on the wall.

"But say we kill them," Alex says. "Think about how that will sway public opinion. You heard the newscaster. They don't think we're the terrorists. They think of us as liberators. Would you really throw all that away for some petty revenge?"

Andy snorts. "They will never think of us on a level equated to theirs."

"Maybe not," Gerard says. "But you don't think that they would just replace them with the next wave of men, intent on locking us up? The problem is not the people, but the ideology of the whole country. If they view us as monsters, they never will view us as equals. We don't need to throw our weight around and prove that we're strong. They know this already. We've shown it time after time, first with the Attack, then with these raids at the Facility. They need to know that we are human too, that we aren't dangerous, that we're just like them."