28 Dont feel guilty to live (2/2)
Lazar had finished applying the bandages on Amandla's hands, she was happy to see while stirring them that she hardly felt any pain, ”Do you already have a plan in mind?”
”Yes, but to make it work we're going to need the army.”
”The army? Do you have a short memory?”
”It's true that Slawn will be complicated to convince but it doesn't depend only on him, he isn't in command. The government didn't only send 300 soldiers led by a simple colonel to liberate a city of Boston's scale, there is at least one Major General behind this reconquest.”
In the US army, the rank of Major General is 2 notches above that of colonel, after this, there are still 2 ranks before that of full general which is the most important rank in peacetime, 'In wartime 2 even higher ranks can be attributed. They have probably already been attributed.'
Lazar stood up and this time he wanted to go to the kitchen.
”What are you doing?”
”Your pizza is going to burn, I'm going to take something to take it out of the fireplace safely. I will tell you about the program for the next few days while you eat.” This time Lazar had no valid reason to move since Amandla had stopped bleeding but she didn't stop him, he wouldn't listen to her anyway.
”You don't want a slice?”
”I'm not hungry.” It was more polite to say that than to admit that the reason why he remembered that the pizza was in the fireplace was that the smell of salmon floating in the air gave him nausea. Even if it annoyed Amandla, he would rather eat nothing than vomit in the bucket again.
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An unusual morning for a city like Boston where the weather is often poor, for once the sky was clear and the sun was bathing the faces of the soldiers busy unloading provisions from the trucks parked in the street. Leaning against one of these trucks not far from Lazar's house was a man whose presence hardly went unnoticed.
It was the officer who ordered the soldiers to retreat yesterday, Slawn's right arm, the badge on his uniform indicated that he was a Major. A very impressive rank for someone in his mid-thirties.
He was posted at this precise place to carry out a task rather unworthy of this rank besides. The first thing Slawn ordered when he regained consciousness yesterday evening was that that the Major should remain stationed just in front of Lazar's house as punishment for what he had done.
He didn't mind monitoring the house, as long as he did so at a reasonable distance... Slawn was clearly looking for a confrontation, he had made it clear in his order that the Major had to stand right in front of the lawn of Lazar's house, 'What he wanted me to do, our goal is to exterminate the monsters, we can't afford to be... Oh shit.''
The front door opened wide and he saw the archer come out of Lazar's house. She no longer gave him the same image as yesterday, her golden hair was tousled and she wore clothes that made him think that she was just getting out of bed, 'Seriously, she's wearing slippers...'
All the soldiers in the street froze one after another when they noticed Amandla's presence and the fact that she seemed to be looking for something made them even more nervous. Her gaze swung from right to left along the street until it stopped on the Major, she then began to walk in his direction.
No matter what she was wearing the Major wasn't going to forget that she was dangerous, he had seen a part of what she was capable yesterday and the testimony of the soldiers who had been confronted with her before he arrived was even scarier...
”Hello... ”Her gaze lingered on his badge then his face and she resumed her sentence,”... With all due respect Major, you seem to have spent a dirty night. With the dark circles you have, I doubt you have had time to sleep tonight if you see where I'm going with this.”
”...” He didn't know what to do or answer, honestly it wouldn't surprise him that she decides to beat him up with one of her slippers in the second considering what she had done yesterday.
”Calm down Major, I will forget this if you pass this on to the Colonel Slawn on behalf of Logan Walker.” She held out her right hand and left only the back of it visible to hide the bandages on her palm, magically she made appear between her index and middle finger a sheet of paper folded in four.
Although they were in bad terms, all information had to be transmitted, ”...Okay, do I have to transmit something else with it?”
”No, you are going to fight today?”
Answering this question would be treason but he suspected that she already had the answer to this question, you only had to take a quick look in the street to know that they were preparing to leave to fight. She probably had another idea in mind by asking him the confirmation.
The intuition of the Major told him that if he really wanted to liberate this city he would have to rely more on Walker and this woman than Slawn so he made a choice. He took the paper from Amandla and gave her a discreet wink, ”My friendships to Walker.”
”Tell Slawn that we want an answer tomorrow and I strongly recommend that you read this message yourself before you give it to him. I don't know this guy as much as you do but I have the impression that he would be able to tear it apart before even reading it.” She said to him, leaving her hands in the pockets of her pajama pants towards Lazar's house.
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Amandla was greeted by the smell of eggs and bacon, luckily Lazar's hotplates ran on gas.
What she had just done had been agreed in the night with Lazar, for her part, all she had asked him was to sleep until noon to recover and it was a little more than 7 am.
”Can I know what are you doing?”
He didn't take his eyes off the pan, ”Eggs and bacon, they're for you.”
”It's nice, I was hungry, now go to sleep or I'll knock you out!”
”I used to wake up at 5 a.m. every morning before, 7 a.m. is a big improvement. I would have woken up earlier if you hadn't woken me up several times talking in your sleep.” A rather thin wall separated Lazar's room from that of Lana in which he had installed Amandla for the night, ”Yesterday our conversation had derailed from his purpose, you couldn't really talk about what you want. Do it now you will feel better.”
Talking in her sleep is what happened to Amandla whenever something was weighing on her heart, 'Maybe it will help me...' Even if it annoys Lazar she preferred to be honest on what she thought, ”Don't take it badly but... How can you not feel guilty about what happened in Philadelphia and Boston?”
'A subtle way of saying: How can you live knowing that thousands of people and your adoptive mother died because of you.' He could understand her point of view but he didn't agree with it, ”Would you blame a baby whose birth would have killed his mother?”
”It's different.”
”Because we are adults? Whether in the case of this baby or ours blaming us would amount to blaming us of existing. Personally, I think you can judge someone only by their actions or their intentions, not by something that is beyond his control, don't feel guilty to live. It's my opinion, do what you want with it.”
'Actually you know how to find the words to cheer me up.' Lazar had stayed focused on the pan all along, too much to notice the tears that Amandla had quickly wiped with her arms. He was just reassured to see that she had a cheerful expression when he turned around with his pan in hand, ”It's ready, sit down.”
Lazar showed Amandla her chair at the kitchen table and waited for her to sit down to put the eggs and bacon on the plate he had placed in front of her, he also sat down at the table on a chair next to her.
Amandla grabbed her cutlery and began to eat in small bites ”I have found the guy you have talked with yesterday and I have given him the message. He is a Major, his rank is high enough.”
”What do you think of him?”
”He confirmed the attack, he can be useful.”
”Well, I didn't expect that much, if he survives this day, everything will become simpler. Anyway, the army will quickly have no other choice than to accept the hand that we are extending to them and to treat us on an equal footing. Fighting against the Ganipotes and the Garaches with a force that has a minority of awakened people is suicide and unfortunately, I think that they will learn that the hard way.”