I walked towards the conference room that I was told the meeting regarding the situation about Efren was going to be held. As I reached the room door, I saw Alexander approach.

"Wait," he commanded while walking briskly towards me.

I frowned at him as he stood in front of me. "What?"

Alexander opened his mouth as if he wanted say something, but stopped himself and frowned back at me, matching my expression.

He sighed and reached for my hand, lacing them tightly together.

"Something wrong?" I asked him quietly and he shook his head.

Finding his behaviour odd, I opened the door with my left hand since my right hand was tightly in his, and saw that both of Alexander's parents were standing in the room along with Emmaline and Victor. Then I saw her. Cadence was also standing in the room with an unknown female agent standing next to her. She met my gaze for a second before looking away.

Alexander squeezed my hand and nudged me inside the room when I realized that I stopped moving.

"Shall we get the meeting started?" Mrs. Blades nodded towards us as we approached the table.

I walked towards the table with Alexander following right behind me.

"We found him," Mrs. Blades started. "But getting him is trickier than I thought. Efren had been hiding in a remote double story home provided by one of the people that worked with him in the past according to the list that we got from Cadence. He moved there recently, only a forty-five-minute drive from one of the weapons facilities." She looked over at Cadence.

Cadence started to speak as she pointed to a certain area on the map projected on the wall. "I was able to take a look at the satellite images of the place and I remembered hearing about the place. The full two-hundred-meter radius around this place has sensors around the perimeter and inside. If anyone were to step a foot in that radius, Efren will know. It gets electricity by a power box and the best way would be to destroy the box first then go in. There are underground pathways and they are set to close immediately after someone enters so if Efren succeeds in entering, we'll lose him for good since there's no way to tell where they lead."

"Do you know where the power box is located?" Mrs. Blades brought up.

Cadence's expression turned grave. "In the ground, not too deep though. The exact location is on the drive I handed to you. Efren kept track of these things electronically." She pointed to a spot on the map in front of us. "Approximately here, close to the back porch."

Her eyes strayed to me as she finished.

"I'll go find a special unit with a sniper and get a weapon." Victor spoke up in the silence.

"Let's do that first. After we get a team together, we'll figure out the logistics," Mr. Blades started.

Cadence frowned slightly at me as I took a glance at her and I sighed slightly to myself.

Mr. Blades and Victor were discussing while I looked over at Alexander.

There was a softness in his gaze and I knew that he understood my reluctance to speak aloud.

I firmly shut my eyes closed as the fear of failure laid heavy in my heart. Alexander's fingers brushed against mine and he soon laced his fingers against mine. I squeezed his hand as I felt his warm support.

"I have a rifle strong enough."

Everyone in the room stopped talking and stared at me.

"Should I ask from where?" Mrs. Blades eyed me curiously.

"A gift," I answered back tightly. "You can leave box to me."

There was a pause in the room.

"Alright. Let's go with that." Mrs. Blades gave me a small smile. "We'll reconvene back in an hour with a team together."

The considerable responsibility that comes with what I agreed to suffocated me, so I quickly rushed out of the room, being the first one to leave.

*

I quickly hiked my way up the hill in the middle of the night. This hill was the only elevation within a kilometer radius that was taller than the trees surrounding the double story home. The hill would leave me out in the open for while I took the shot, but it was dark enough that if no one concentrates their eyesight towards me, they wouldn't be able to see me and unless they also have a sniper on their side, they won't be able to hit me either.

I set up my rifle as soon I was in position. "I'm in position." I communicated through my earpiece and waited for everyone else to get in place.

There are currently three teams of four people led by Alexander, Victor and Mr. Blades. They would be getting as close to the perimeter as possible without triggering the sensors and being seen.

Mrs. Blades is currently with Emmaline keeping an eye on our target and on all of our teams, making sure everything goes according to plan.

Once I hit my target, the teams will go within the sensors' radius to reach the house. The goal was to infiltrate as quietly as possible. One team will guard the outside while the other two will enter and seize everyone within.

"We're in place." I heard Alexander's voice.

Mr. Blades and Victor also informed us that they were in position as well.

"There are currently two people outside, guarding the front and back doors." Emmaline cautioned since she was keeping track of the movements around the house through the satellite imaging.

I looked through my scope.

The lights on the first floor were off, but on second floor, there was currently one room with the lights on. As for the basement, it was not possible to tell if any of Efren's men were down there or not. The fortunate part was that the light helped me see my target area better.

"We're ready when you are, Vita." I heard Mrs. Blades notify me.

My heart thumping against my rib cages started to pound so hard that I feared it would out break out of my chest. My finger trembled against the trigger as I focused my sight through the scope.

A flash of my bullet piercing Cadence appeared in front of my eyes and I immediately clenched my teeth and took a deep breath. I squeezed my emotions into a small corner and I quickly aimed my rifle towards my target.

As the man guarding the back turned away from the back porch, I quickly fired.

Doubt clouded my mind as I questioned if I hit my target.

"You got it." I heard the confirmation from Mrs. Blades and I expelled my breath deeply, yet silently, in relief.

Concentrating back through my scope, I saw that the man near the area where I shot was starting to stare at the ground where my bullet pierced through. The man stepped closer and crouched to examine the ground then immediately stood. He quickly surveyed through the forest.

"The man guarding the back noticed," I informed the teams.

"If you can make the shot, take it," Mrs. Blades commanded.

As the man glanced in my general area, I fired and he crumpled to the ground. The other man guarding the front must have heard him collapse to the ground and approached him on the ground. As he got close enough, I pulled the trigger once more.

"The outside of the house is clear," I spoke up and heard Mrs. Blades confirm that she heard me.

I heard sounds of gunfire through my earpiece and I continued to stay focused on the house.

In a span of a few minutes, I got confirmation that Efren and his men were caught. Mrs. Blades soon commanded me to pack up.

My head told me that it was finally over, but the uneasiness in my chest didn't go away. Something wasn't right.

I sighed to myself and packed up my rifle. As I started walking towards where Victor's team was going to pick me up, I brushed away that feeling thinking that I was just being overly cautious.

*

As we reached Phoenix headquarters, the sun was starting to come up.

Alexander's team and Mr. Blades' team will be bringing in Efren and his members into custody, so I simply had to check in with Mrs. Blades then I was free to go with no more obligations for the day.

I quickly got out of the car and I was about to walk into the building when I heard the unmistakable sound of a gunshot fired. I immediately took out my firearm while dropping my rifle case and aimed it towards where I heard the sound, but I saw Efren being pinned to the ground by the Phoenix agents. He was laughing for a moment then he met my eyes with a sinister smirk on his face. The gun he must have fired was on the ground a few feet away from him. My heart started to pound faster when a sudden chill went down my spine as I understood his intentions.

He wasn't aiming for me.

I quickly jerked my head towards the direction where Efren fired and I saw Alexander standing frozen. Alexander's knees hit the ground and my body moved before I could think. I sprinted at full speed towards him and got on my knees to catch his large frame in arms as his body started to fall forwards.

"R-red," I stuttered in shock as I held most of his upper body weight.

Victor rushed over and quickly helped me lay him gently on his back on the ground. Alexander's eyes blinked in shock and confusion.

My hands shook as I opened his bulletproof vest and I saw that the bullet pierced through the vest, red was blooming from Alexander's right pectoral. I rapidly yanked off my jacket and pressed it against his wound.

"I'm alright," Alexander assured me and tried to sit up, but I pressed down on the base of his neck to keep him lying down.

"Don't," I warned him with a sneer, his face blurring in my vision.

I felt Alexander brush my cheek with the back of his fingers, wiping away my tears. As I looked over at him, he had a wince on his face and soon dropped his hand back on the ground.

It must have been a max of a few minutes when paramedics rushed beside me to take Alexander on a stretcher and rushed him away.

So much blood. My hands were covered in his blood.

"Efren," I sneered, clenching my hands into fists as I quickly placed the vacant mask over my features and stood up with a newfound goal.

Looking around, I found Efren being escorted away from the scene and I made my way towards him.

"Simmons?" I heard Victor called out questioningly as he firmly gripped my shoulder.

I shrugged him off and continued my way forwards.

"Agent Simmons." The agents escorting Efren greeted me when they noticed me coming closer.

Efren smirked as he looked at me and he opened his mouth to say something. "May you suffer the loss of losing a loved one."

I pushed away the agents in my way and immediately made a fist and aimed it at Efren's face. The impact made him stumble backwards until he fell on his butt.

As he tried to get up, I kneed him right on his nose and I heard satisfying crunch. His head hit the ground as his nose started to bleed profusely.

Efren yelled as he grabbed his face, but it wasn't enough for me. I grabbed his collar to yank his face a little closer to mine.

"You are one man I truly wish I could kill with my bullet. Have it go straight through your skull and wipe that disgusting smirk from your face."

I could feel people grabbing me, but I didn't let go. I wasn't done speaking to this piece of sh*t.

"I won't." I chuckled darkly. "Have fun in prison. May you never smell the fresh air and taste freedom. May you suffer until you breathe your last."

Efren glared at me while he covered his nose with his hands.

"Though, you won't last long in prison. You know what I mean." It was my turn to give him a sinister smile.

Someone forced me to let go of Efren and I let them move me away from him. The agents got Efren back up.

"By the way, you're a sh*t shot."

Efren glared at me as he was forced to walk away from me by the two agents escorting him.

"Did that make you feel better?" I heard Victor ask and I stared into his eyes.

"I wish I could have broken more than his nose," I answered brutally while starting my jog towards the direction where Alexander was taken.

I needed to see him.

*

I sat in the hospital waiting for the news since Alexander was rushed into surgery.

Mr. and Mrs. Blades were also sitting next to me, waiting.

A doctor finally came out and we all stood immediately.

The doctor gave us a small smile. "He'll make a full recovery. He's currently sleeping in room 308."

We made our way to Alexander's room. Since there was only one chair in the room, Mr. and Mrs. Blades saw that their son was doing fine so they left soon after so that I could spend time with him.

I stared at his sleeping face and the relief I felt while in solitude weakened my knees and I collapsed onto the chair. Slipping out his left hand, the one that wasn't linked to any machines, I linked my right hand with his.

The events of the past few hours must have exhausted me because before I knew it, I fell asleep with my head resting on my forearms on the bed and my face turned towards him.

*

I heard people talking and I opened my eyes quickly. Alexander was awake, sitting on the hospital bed and I widened my eyes in surprise. I quickly sat up straight only to wince when my back cracked a few times since I slept in such an odd position last night.

I looked behind me and saw Victor standing there.

He gave me a small smile. "I'll leave you to rest, Blades," Victor told Alexander and soon left after saying goodbye to me.

I looked back at Alexander and he squeezed my right hand. That was when I realized that my right hand was still laced together with his left.

Alexander gave me a smile and tugged my right hand. "Come here."

I stared at him dumbfounded and he tugged me a little harder with amusement glinting in his eyes.

"R-Red," I stuttered as I slowly got up.

"Yes, Angel?"

I let go of his hand to cup his face with both of my hands, leaning closer until our noses almost brushed against each other.

"Kiss me," he whispered tauntingly with a mischievous glint in his dark grays.

I firmly planted my lips over his and kissed him like I didn't want to breathe my next without him. He kissed me back just as fiercely with unsuppressed passion as he slipped his left arm around my waist to pull me down onto his lap.

"I love you, Alexander." I broke away the kiss to put my forehead against his and whispered quietly just for his ears.

The amusement in his eyes faded and his gaze burned with affection as he tugged me closer by squeezing my waist a little tighter. "I love you too, Vita."

****

I can't believe it, but this was final chapter for Temporary Alliance. *sniffle sniffle*

Stay tuned for the epilogue, it will be up very soon :)

Please vote if you enjoyed it! :D

Sincerely,

InvincibleBunny