Finale: Live and Let Die
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:25 pm
(Dorian Ibanescu continued from Freedom or Bust)
Dorian couldn't tell which was pumping faster; his heart, or his legs. They'd both begun racing uncontrollably as the sounds of gunfire erupted from the armory behind them, and after taking Marnie's hand (for the first time, and albeit somewhat clumsily and considerably unromantic as his sweaty palms were most certainly not appealing), the pair had quickened their pace in hastily escaping. They'd avoided the trail and consequently left everyone else behind, and they were basically directionless. He didn't dare look back to see if they were being followed, for his mind was on one thing and one thing only.
Marnie.
...No, escaping!
So his legs had propelled both of them through the undergrowth, until eventually the stars piercing the sky and the crashing sounds of waves alerted him to the presence of the coast. As the trees dispersed Dorian slowed down, motioning for Marnie to be quiet and stay low. His eyes lit up against the pale moonlight as he recognized three rigid structures docked against a wooden port walkway that wound its way across the coastline. They were boats, and they were big. Enough to house everybody and then some. He made to turn to Marnie, but the sounds of muffled speech interrupted his joy.
Together the two crouched, and almost instantly the tension in the air threatened to suffocate them.
They weren't alone.
---
The night is always darkest just before the dawn.
Lucas Grossi's mother had always spoken to him in terms of universal truths. As her brilliant son progressed through the years she quickly found that she had less and less to offer him, but her infinite knowledge and experience provided a more solid foundation for the young man than she could ever know. He'd always hoped that one day he'd have the chance to tell her. To repay her, even.
And now...he was a terrorist.
He sighed desparagingly, taking a look out over the cascading ocean. Ever since he'd snuck on board with Squad 2 and they'd docked on the island he hadn't been able to leave the boat. His self-deprecating thoughts chose a fantastic time to manifest themselves, and while he had tried to get in contact with Garnett multiple times, each had been met with the same response...none. It didn't really surprise him. If he had his radio on his person Danya could contact and track him. It was the very reason Grossi decided not to bring his after trying for the last time to contact Garnett from the base. He didn't really blame him. Danya was the last person either of them wanted to deal with right now.
And all at once, Grossi's mind was made up. He realized that together with Garnett, only him and the possibly non-existant rogue students had a chance of standing up against Danya...against everything. This program was disgusting, and his involvement with it was about to be over.
He unholstered his .45, handling it loosely in his right hand as he disembarked the boat and landed safely on the pier. His determined march towards the brink of the jungle was unexpectedly interrupted, however, by one lone guard patrolling the beach. Konrad seemed to have called for full backup, which Grossi couldn't help but be thankful for. At least his escape route was clear.
"Lucas...what brings you here?" Came a condescending bass, and as Grossi curiously tilted his head in the direction of the soldier he realized it wasn't just any squad patrol.
"Raiger..." he muttered, observing the coloured man. Grossi didn't often associate with Danya's foot soldiers, but Raiger was one of them who you couldn't help but notice. His hulking form wasn't one to be trifled with, let alone easily ignored. "I've been here the whole time," he fessed up finally, drawing a curious glance from the soldier.
"Danya's been paging you for hours. You're telling me he sent you here?" Raiger interrogated menacingly, which send warning signals off in Grossi's mind. There was no other way. Raiger had caught his scent...but there was no turning back now.
Without hesitating, Grossi raised his .45 magnum and braced it, firing two rounds into Raiger's chest.
The brute toppled breathlessly backwards, dropping the rifle he'd clutched so fervently mere seconds before. His eyes rolled back in his head, and Grossi was polite enough to lean down and close them for him. The man was a scumbag, but he deserved at least common courtesy.
A high-pitched gasp broke the impending silence, coming from the direction of the jungle.
Lucas only smiled, realizing that the students had progressed faster and farther than he thought. It must've been them. "You can come out..." he urged. "There's nobody else here," he indicated, holstering the magnum again and indicating the three empty boats.
---
Dorian's breath caught in his throat as Marnie's gasp alerted the strange man to their presence, but something about him didn't seem quite right. He wasn't like the others...
He just killed one of the other terrorists. So...he is trying to help us?
Dorian clutched the shotgun tightly and stepped out of the bushes, eying the man curiously. "You're not the guy from the armory..."
"...Ah," Lucas began, looking directly into the boy's face. "You must've met Garnett. The two of us are here to help," he indicated simply, jerking his head in the direction of the boats.
"Y-...you're serious?" Dorian inquired in disbelief, his heart fluttering a little.
Grossi merely looked down towards Raiger's corpse, then back up to Dorian. "Dead serious."
Dorian stood silently for what must've been a good twenty seconds, then after taking a thorough look around the area he turned back to Marnie. "Come on, now's our chance!" he whispered towards her, then turned back towards Grossi, his eyes suddenly hardening.
"There's a lot of others. At least ten of them," Dorian started, and Grossi's pleasantly surprised lips curved into a smile. The terrorist reached into his pocket and suddenly produced the keys to the boat he'd snuck onto, which one of the terrorists had evidently left behind.
"It's for the one in the middle. Get it started," he directed, and without hesitation Dorian yanked the keys out of the man's hand, turning back toward Marnie.
"What are we waiting for?" He exhaled dreamily, unable to believe that after two weeks of torture and absolute hell, the end was finally in sight. The prospect of escaping had him acting hasty and irrational, but none of that mattered now. They were almost home free.
Dorian couldn't tell which was pumping faster; his heart, or his legs. They'd both begun racing uncontrollably as the sounds of gunfire erupted from the armory behind them, and after taking Marnie's hand (for the first time, and albeit somewhat clumsily and considerably unromantic as his sweaty palms were most certainly not appealing), the pair had quickened their pace in hastily escaping. They'd avoided the trail and consequently left everyone else behind, and they were basically directionless. He didn't dare look back to see if they were being followed, for his mind was on one thing and one thing only.
Marnie.
...No, escaping!
So his legs had propelled both of them through the undergrowth, until eventually the stars piercing the sky and the crashing sounds of waves alerted him to the presence of the coast. As the trees dispersed Dorian slowed down, motioning for Marnie to be quiet and stay low. His eyes lit up against the pale moonlight as he recognized three rigid structures docked against a wooden port walkway that wound its way across the coastline. They were boats, and they were big. Enough to house everybody and then some. He made to turn to Marnie, but the sounds of muffled speech interrupted his joy.
Together the two crouched, and almost instantly the tension in the air threatened to suffocate them.
They weren't alone.
---
The night is always darkest just before the dawn.
Lucas Grossi's mother had always spoken to him in terms of universal truths. As her brilliant son progressed through the years she quickly found that she had less and less to offer him, but her infinite knowledge and experience provided a more solid foundation for the young man than she could ever know. He'd always hoped that one day he'd have the chance to tell her. To repay her, even.
And now...he was a terrorist.
He sighed desparagingly, taking a look out over the cascading ocean. Ever since he'd snuck on board with Squad 2 and they'd docked on the island he hadn't been able to leave the boat. His self-deprecating thoughts chose a fantastic time to manifest themselves, and while he had tried to get in contact with Garnett multiple times, each had been met with the same response...none. It didn't really surprise him. If he had his radio on his person Danya could contact and track him. It was the very reason Grossi decided not to bring his after trying for the last time to contact Garnett from the base. He didn't really blame him. Danya was the last person either of them wanted to deal with right now.
And all at once, Grossi's mind was made up. He realized that together with Garnett, only him and the possibly non-existant rogue students had a chance of standing up against Danya...against everything. This program was disgusting, and his involvement with it was about to be over.
He unholstered his .45, handling it loosely in his right hand as he disembarked the boat and landed safely on the pier. His determined march towards the brink of the jungle was unexpectedly interrupted, however, by one lone guard patrolling the beach. Konrad seemed to have called for full backup, which Grossi couldn't help but be thankful for. At least his escape route was clear.
"Lucas...what brings you here?" Came a condescending bass, and as Grossi curiously tilted his head in the direction of the soldier he realized it wasn't just any squad patrol.
"Raiger..." he muttered, observing the coloured man. Grossi didn't often associate with Danya's foot soldiers, but Raiger was one of them who you couldn't help but notice. His hulking form wasn't one to be trifled with, let alone easily ignored. "I've been here the whole time," he fessed up finally, drawing a curious glance from the soldier.
"Danya's been paging you for hours. You're telling me he sent you here?" Raiger interrogated menacingly, which send warning signals off in Grossi's mind. There was no other way. Raiger had caught his scent...but there was no turning back now.
Without hesitating, Grossi raised his .45 magnum and braced it, firing two rounds into Raiger's chest.
The brute toppled breathlessly backwards, dropping the rifle he'd clutched so fervently mere seconds before. His eyes rolled back in his head, and Grossi was polite enough to lean down and close them for him. The man was a scumbag, but he deserved at least common courtesy.
A high-pitched gasp broke the impending silence, coming from the direction of the jungle.
Lucas only smiled, realizing that the students had progressed faster and farther than he thought. It must've been them. "You can come out..." he urged. "There's nobody else here," he indicated, holstering the magnum again and indicating the three empty boats.
---
Dorian's breath caught in his throat as Marnie's gasp alerted the strange man to their presence, but something about him didn't seem quite right. He wasn't like the others...
He just killed one of the other terrorists. So...he is trying to help us?
Dorian clutched the shotgun tightly and stepped out of the bushes, eying the man curiously. "You're not the guy from the armory..."
"...Ah," Lucas began, looking directly into the boy's face. "You must've met Garnett. The two of us are here to help," he indicated simply, jerking his head in the direction of the boats.
"Y-...you're serious?" Dorian inquired in disbelief, his heart fluttering a little.
Grossi merely looked down towards Raiger's corpse, then back up to Dorian. "Dead serious."
Dorian stood silently for what must've been a good twenty seconds, then after taking a thorough look around the area he turned back to Marnie. "Come on, now's our chance!" he whispered towards her, then turned back towards Grossi, his eyes suddenly hardening.
"There's a lot of others. At least ten of them," Dorian started, and Grossi's pleasantly surprised lips curved into a smile. The terrorist reached into his pocket and suddenly produced the keys to the boat he'd snuck onto, which one of the terrorists had evidently left behind.
"It's for the one in the middle. Get it started," he directed, and without hesitation Dorian yanked the keys out of the man's hand, turning back toward Marnie.
"What are we waiting for?" He exhaled dreamily, unable to believe that after two weeks of torture and absolute hell, the end was finally in sight. The prospect of escaping had him acting hasty and irrational, but none of that mattered now. They were almost home free.