Edward blinked at the screen, inside of his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and plans. The teen had made a critical flaw in underestimating Cornelia’s abilities and that of her squad. A positive was the control room was still in their control, but that was nothing compared to the failure that Cornelia stood a few feet away from Eiden. Gunfire persisted outside, his mind raced to find a solution, a way out. All the plans that came to him required him to wait a bit longer, until the last possible second. He rubbed his temples in thought, an average Imperial Army Squad was made up of twelve persons. There were three pinned down by the control room, about six went to the right hallway, Cornelia was by Eiden, and two at the entryway. The Dame and the two were going to be a problem, they blocked the only way out. The goons Eiden hired were just cannon fodder. If they wanted to get out of this situation, they had to subvert expectations, be bold as Cornelia, then maybe they could get out alive.

“Eiden got a lot of people, but the least he could’ve done was to bring good people,” Alexa commented.

He nodded in response. The boy concentrated on the screen. It was clear the Governor is the most important objective for Cornelia, then the capturing of Eiden. In their minds, if Eiden were to be captured or killed then the rest would be easy pickings. It wasn’t entirely false, but the enemy missed a key point. Edward was the key to escape. The King may be the most important, but the Queen is the most powerful piece. Edward would batter their lines with the Queen and Rook.

Eiden and Cornelia were at a standstill, a standstill that was about to be broken. His eyes darted to the other screens, the Governor was out of reach, Havoc had torn right through their defense and was performing a perfect pincer movement. To be expected from commandos, time was running out. The squad had broken the left perimeter; Cornelia had her back up.

“We have to help them, Ghost,” Alexa stated impatiently. “I am tired of sitting here doing nothing.

It was time to execute his plan, Edward rushed over to the laptop. With a few strokes on the keyboard, the laptop reflected the control room’s screen. The boy’s typing almost couldn’t keep up with his mind. Soldiers were closing in on Eiden and Percival, all flanks had fallen. Edward completed the sequence, the final key sent the entire facility to darkness. The firefight grounded to a halt, only the light of the laptop and control room illuminated the room.

“The heck-?” He wasted no time and took Alexa’s hand and the laptop in another and bolted for the door. Alexa yanked her hand away, “No. No.” She looked down at him like a disobedient child, “You may be smart, but I doubt you can do anything when a gun is pointed at you.”

Edward frowned, “Fine.” He didn’t mean to talk, and by Alexa’s expression, she didn’t either. He took her hand, Alexa yanked him along. The emergency lights came on as they exited the room, he faintly heard one of the members of Havoc squad repeat the order ‘switching to night vision’. The three commandos were a fair distance from the door, they could just make it out. The said commandos looked surprised to see the pair, so surprised that only one of them raised his gun. Alexa got off the shot first, the bullet tore through his hand, then the gun clanged against the ground. The man howled in pain, his comrades rushing to aid him. Edward let go of Alexa’s hand and typed a bit more, the fire suppression system was activated. Immediately foam poured out, filling the air, disrupting night vision and cameras. He could still barely picture Eiden and Percival, they were headed to the tunnel as well.

Edward breathed hard, the harder he ran, the harder it was to get oxygen. He didn't need the laptop to know Cornelia was chasing them down. Her boots barreled down on the pair, even with the foam the laptop gave away their position. Bullets whizzed by them, oddly enough no bullets were coming from ahead of them. Alexa pushed the chairs and tables out away, even with this Cornelia seemed only to get closer, they were nearing the staircase, escape was in sight. The footfalls ceased behind him, only to be replaced by another noise, like a flag fluttering in the wind. It either meant either the flags had fallen, or Cornelia had jumped and was converging on them.

It became difficult to breathe, his body failed to keep up with his mind. Alexa jumped for some reason ahead of him. He tried his best to mirror the move, but his legs said no and gave out. Edward’s foot caught on what Alexa avoided, a body. He realized the critical mistake, he couldn’t escape, Alexa would. The boy stumbled, the air caught in his throat. Sound of Cornelia unsheathing her sword only confirmed the loss. The metal sliced at him, cutting the foam in front of him, revealing him. The Dame was upon him, but he remained defiant, Edward wouldn’t allow her to catch Eiden and Percival. He struck the keyboard, the sound of metal grinding echoed up the staircase. The blast doors started to close. The young teen closed his eyes and waited for her to capture him. The Dame’s hand reached for him, another beat her to it.

A cold hand gripped his left list and jerked him towards the stairs. Cornelia harmlessly swiped the air. In the next moment he was flying, before the full reality of what happened hit him, he slammed into the ground, pain shot through his shoulder as he crashed against the hard marble floor. The laptop landed a few feet away, completely shattered. The sound of metal striking came from above, “Get the child, he’s at the bottom of the staircase!” Cornelia yelled.

Edward got to his feet, he couldn’t waste Alexa’s opening. The boy held his shoulder and limped his way to the closing door. Frantic running came down the stairs, but it was too late for them, he slid under the bulkhead. The teen forced his legs to move faster, the second barrier would close. His lungs started to tighten, he rolled under the bulkhead. The boy wanted to vomit, he gasped for air, lungs rejecting the air. He ran and ran, throwing himself at the third obstacle. It would trundle down, not caring if it crushed him or not. The boy’s frail body rolled out of the way, the gigantic steel gate slammed shut. Edward laid there for a few moments, a pair of shadows stood over him. The taller of which picked him up gently. His thoughts ran together, crashing against one another in a vain attempt to identify the two. Something in his mind had told him that they were friendly, and he was content with that. Pictures rolled through his eyes like a slideshow, there were stairs, the moon was full. The trees danced around; they were far below. Then he was amid them, an endless field of grass; stars filled the sky. There was a car. He was in it. Eiden. Percival. Failure. Darkness.

***

Edward stood before Master; the man was reclining at his chair facing away into a TV. Eiden was propped on crutches, recovering from the bullet wounds to his legs. Edward himself had his arm in a sling with his fractured collarbone. Percival was standing next to him, he received no injuries during the raid. It had been two days since the attack and was the first time anyone of them had seen Master. The only thing that the raid screamed was a failure, three alone escaped the suicidal mission, Governor Talin lived, and Cornelia was hunting them. Edward didn’t focus on the failure, he focused on the reason why. Why did they lose? The lack of skill of the thugs Eiden hired was probably the core issue. Eiden pinned the whole thing on Edward, the boy didn’t care, he knew it wasn’t true. Something within him interrupted his thoughts, it wasn’t annoying (Like Edward could even grasp the concept of annoying), it was distracting. Like someone tapping on your window repeatedly.

“Oh, it’s starting,” Master announced. Edward turned his attention to the TV. He could only think of one reason why Master had brought them here. Master raised the volume, so they could all listen to their failure.

A middle-aged man filled the screen, he had blonde hair that was slicked back, blue eyes that pierced the screen. The newscaster wore a blue suit, white shirt, and a tie to match. A small lapel of Carolina’s flag upon his suit glittered against the bright light of the newsroom. “Tonight, we have a special news report. Tragedy struck the Imperial Carolina Gala as it was attacked on the night of September 16th, 2032. Fortunately, there were no civilian casualties, however, 15 brave Imperial Guards gave their lives to protect our Governor, let us now have a moment of silence.”

The screen turned black and the pictures of the soldiers with their names scrawled across the screen. The Carolina anthem played, Eiden was eerily quiet, the teen smoldered in silence. He did not look overtly hostile, but there was a sense of enmity between him and Edward. The boy chalked up the silence to the presence of Master. Eiden knew he couldn’t do anything to Edward in front of Master, they both served Master.

“Unfortunately, we have no official report from the Governor himself on the situation. We do have a statement from the Governor’s Dame. This statement was taken mere hours after the attack.”

Cornelia replaced the newsman. Her green eyes were filled with righteous fury. In the background the moon hung low west, red and blue police lights flashed in the background, lighting up the night. Police and commandos milled about behind her. The Dame’s tone reflected the rage within her eyes, “Yes, the Governor is safe and sound. Yes, none of the nobility was hurt or killed. Yes, most of the terrorists were captured.” The Dame balled her fists, her jaw clenched. “The people behind this treasonous attack are on the run. I take full responsibility for putting not only the Governor but all the guests at risk. Therefore, I will not rest, I will not give up on finding those responsible and smashing their plans to pieces.” She raised her fist into the air and shouted, “For Carolina! For the Empire!” Soldiers that were nearby raised their fists and chanted with her, “For Carolina! For the Empire! For Carolina! For the Empire! For Carolina! For the Empire!”

Master muted the television. “How dramatic,” he said to no one in particular.

The four of them were silent, Edward refused to apologize for the failure when it wasn’t his fault. If anything Percival would speak first. To the boy’s surprise, Eiden proved him wrong, “Master…”

Master cut him off, “It is fine Eiden. It does not matter how many tries it takes if you learn from your failure. The question is, what will you do now?”

The teen looked frustrated at himself. He didn’t have an answer, there was no plan. Edward on the other hand had one in the works, “We need an identity, something people can get behind.”

“How does a mere identity help, what reason do people have to get behind our group? What reason do people have to be angry at the Government.” Master continued to question. Each question had its difficulties. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be easy, it would have been much easier to start a revolt in a Territory, where there was already hatred for Washington.

The wheels continued to turn in his head until he reached his answer. “We need to give them a reason to be outraged.”

Master didn’t say anything at first, the man put a hand to his chin in thought. Edward contemplated what further questions Master could ask him, surely he would see that Edward was correct in his approach. “And that reason being?” The man asked as he turned around. His face remained in the shadows, Edward could only make out the glint in his eyes. Edward’s mind switched into overdrive, looking at every single possibility, none seemed anymore compelling than the last. The boy struggled to understand the concept of rage, what would make a person angry enough to rebel against their country. “Eiden?”

Edward looked up, Master stared at the terminally, expecting an answer. What could he possibly come up with, that he couldn’t? Eiden glared at the ground, his hands balled into a fist. As Edward predicted, the teen had no clue on how to proceed. He opened his mouth to give Master his final decision. But, another voice came out, “Abandonment.”

The boy looked up to the teen. “Elaborate Eiden, if you will,” Master instructed. What did ‘abandonment’ have to do with anything, Edward wondered.

Eiden sighed angrily and kicked a nearby table. “If people feel abandoned then they will turn to other people for help.” He stated. Softer words came after like he didn’t want anyone to hear, but Edward did, “No one wants to be in pain.”

He blinked. Well, that was obvious, any ten-year-old could have told you that, he thought to himself. “So what you are saying, is that if the Government fails to protect its citizens, and only strives to protect itself; then the people will look for another source of safety?” Master clarified.

Eiden had a slight irritation in his expression, “Yes,” he said with an edge.

Edward frowned, he thought the analysis was dubious at best. But Master was correct in his logic, they needed to create doubt in the legitimacy of Washington, that is the best way to win. “I do have a suggestion.” Master gave him a leveled look, and Eiden shot him a glare. “We should rescue the useful elements from the raid. Most of which are scheduled to be executed in a few days.”

Eiden bitterly laughed, “They were all meant to die.”

“If we want to destabilize the Government then we need more people.” Edward countered with a blank stare. “And there are already people who would join us, might as well as get competent ones.”

Master stared at the two teens. They were having a staring contest, neither willing to look away. The man cleared his throat, breaking the draw. “Are you sure they would be willing to join? Such an operation is daring.”

The young teen gave him a firm nod. “We could always find more competent people,” Percival counteracted.

Edward turned his attention to the butler, “They would need to be indoctrinated, it would be easier to get people who are already willing to go on a suicidal mission out of revenge.” It was illogical for Percival to take Eiden’s side, the angry teen was in the wrong.

Master leaned back in his chair, he was silent for a few seconds. Edward wondered how the man thought, his intelligence was prevalent. It made the boy wonder how someone got that smart, what had he gone through. Master leaned forward, the light only catching his chin, “Edward is correct in his assessment, therefore I’ll leave it in his hands to create the rescue plan.” The news caused Eiden to growl, Percival glanced at the older teen.

“Thank you, Master,” Edward replied. Perhaps since he was planning it, it would succeed. The chess match he lost came to mind, he would need to learn from past escapes, to plan his own.

“For now, take this time to lie low. Observe how the enemy reacts, and we shall react accordingly.” The man concluded the meeting. He was correct, Edward needed to plan around any measures that Cornelia took, the enemy was on high alert. The three of them turned to leave; Master stopped them, “Wait, I need to speak with Edward alone.” He froze his tracks, neither Percival nor Eiden looked his way as they left. The butler closed the door with a soft click.

The boy turned around, Master was standing by the windows, the once closed blinds were retracting. They revealed the sprawling cityscape, it was a clear night, the only object in the sky was the moon. The lights choked out any stars that might have burned. Master gestured for him to stand beside him, the boy obliged. The man held something, at first glance, it was a book. “When I asked you ‘why do you want to win’ and you answered ‘I don’t know. I just wanna do what my brother would have done: try’, is it out of mere convenience that my goals are in line with yours?”

Edward frowned, memories of his brother failed to surface. The person at the window started knocking louder. In any case, the answer was no. “No, Master.”

Master turned and looked down at, his visage perplexed. “You don’t fight for your brother?”

He shook his head no, “I fight to win.”

The man didn’t respond at first, but when he did, it was apparent that he dropped the subject. Master took out what he was holding. It was a journal of some sort, its edges were frayed, water stains in some areas, time was not kind to the book. Master stared down at the book, running his hand over the cover. “This was your parent’s book.” Edward didn’t remember them having a journal, they never elaborated on their line of work. The only thing he knew was it was for the government. “Do you know what they did?”

Edward again shook his head.

Master nodded, “They probably weren’t supposed to tell you. They were the heads of the ISA’s Deep Science Division. What they were working on was something that would bring an end to war as we know it.” Edward squinted at the book, so that's where his intelligence came from. His parents. “Instead of being on the front lines with Eiden and Percival…” Master handed the book to Edward, “I want you to finish your parent’s work so that it might bring about a world you and I want.” Edward reached out, instead of grasping Master, he grasped the key to his victory. He took the book without hesitation. “I should warn you, the path you have taken will be filled with hardships, and you might find yourself losing sight of what you want.”

Edward stared at the man, his expression detached, “I won’t fail you, I’m not afraid.”