The Story of Blood and Roses

Fifty-nine men. How had we managed that?

Michael had just patted my back awkwardly in front of all the people and then left the building. Under the strict order of the Boss himself, I was not to be allowed on the site of tomorrow\'s ambush. Apparently, I was in a delicate condition and had fought my share of people for this mission. I hadn\'t even known that we had a quota of dead people that we had to fulfil before being allowed to rest.

I wonder what incentive I will receive for killing all those people.

As I sat in the base camp surrounded by cars the next day, I was furious. No one was at the base except for me. I felt like an invalid. Only some of the tech people were hanging out. They had literally turned the mission into an impromptu picnic. They had marshmallows and dry food and whatnot. It was a mini party in the middle of nowhere. I was sitting among people my own age who had no clue as to how much danger they were in. They were obliviously joking around and running about doing absolutely no productive work. I couldn\'t figure out why Anthony had brought them in the first place.

I would like to think that I was protecting the base and the newly reclaimed shipments from being taken by Darcy\'s men, but my companions were no guards. They were naive little kids who did not know what the fear of death was.

I got up and left them partying. Inside the car, I cranked up the music and spread out on the back seat. I fully intended to take advantage of the time I had gotten off, even if I was pissed off that Michael left me behind.

What was he thinking?

I groaned as I tried to get comfortable in the small space. I don\'t know how long I sat lay there, waiting for sleep to take me. It never came, but paranoia crept in. I kept my eyes wide open. The music on the radio got annoying, so I reached over to turn it off. From the corner of my eyes, I saw something move in a distance. Convinced that it was one of the boys taking a leak, I let it go. But after a few seconds, this shadow moved again, and rather peculiarly. I froze in my spot as I waited for it to move away. Of course, it did.

I wrenched the door open, throwing myself out. I pulled my gun out and ran as fast as I could.

"Run!" I screamed. They seemed too lost in their own conversation to even turn around. Fucking fools!

"Take cover!" I tried again, but I was too late. I heard the sound of firing, and then the sound of screaming. Everything in me screamed to turn around and take cover, but I couldn\'t let the foolish brats sit there unprotected. I had to take the risk.

I saw them fall down. Some did so to take cover, while others fell forward by the impact of the bullets hitting them.

"Crawl out of the way!" I ordered them. It would be just a matter of seconds before the target would change. I knew it. That was what I was trying to do. I felt the adrenaline rush through my veins as I screamed bloody murder and pulled my gun up. I had no time to take aim, but I shot blankly in their genuine direction. Two fell, to my relief. Others just scattered. I saw the tech guys crawling away and taking shelter behind cars. I sighed in relief and barrelled forward, moving closer to the attackers so that I could aim better.

They shot at me, but I ducked every time. I was glad.

Taking shelter behind one of the cars in the outer circle of the base, I reloaded the gun and waited for any indication of the assailants coming closer. Sooner than I had expected, I heard the sound of their foot hitting the ground and smiled. I had a chance.

From what I had seen, there were five of them. There was one of me. I had gotten two already, so I had to take our three more. I had no one to cover me. These scared little boys couldn\'t hold a gun for their lives... or could they?

My eyes widened as I saw one of them peer out from behind one car, and a bullet flew at him. Fortunately, he moved his head back and was spared from facing an untimely death. Again, he peered out but seemed to be spared from the attention of the shooters. I signalled him to look at me, and he gasped as he stared. I recognized him as the boy from earlier, who had checked me out in Michael\'s office. I held my gun up and tried to send a message across. I didn\'t know how much I succeeded, but I think I saw him nod just a bit. I was glad that I had the reassurance that he had understood.

I saw him move back into safety and then come back again. This time he had a gun in his hand. I smiled. He nodded at me and tried to aim ahead of the car I had taken shelter behind. His hands shook violently, but he kept trying. He breathed in and out until his hands shook less. He aimed and then shot.