Fear the Night

Chapter 21: The Announcement

Midnight came too slowly for Isabella and Natalie, but all too quickly for the people in town. When the sun began to set, hardly any people attempted to head for the Keith mansion. When they saw no Drones in the streets, and Suits literally everywhere, they inched from their homes and down the streets, warily glancing over their shoulders. No one walked alone, always in groups of two or more.

When the moon was up, the streets lights around the mansion lit, and the camera streaming a live feed to every news station and television in the country was set up next to the fountain that everyone was assembled around in front of the Keith mansion, Mr. Keith stood on the steps with his daughter and her friend.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, daughter,” he mumbled from the corner of his mouth as he stared at the crowd in front of his home.

“Thank you for your trust in me, father,” she whispered back and he stroked the back of her head before stepping closer to the impatient crowd.

“What is this, Keith?!” one of the crowd shouted. “Do you know the risk we take by just being out here?!”

“A Drone could attack at any moment!” a woman shouted in fear.

“Did you call us here to die?!”

“What’s going on?! Tell us, now!”

The crowd roared with shouts of displeasure and fear and Mr. Keith only sighed. He was far too old to be doing this, wasn’t he?

“People! Please, listen!” he entreated loudly, raising his hands up to the crowd who slowly but surely died down. “I am not the one who will be speaking to you tonight!”

A murmur of suspicious yet incoherent words came from the crowd, but Mr. Keith continued, “I have asked you to gather here to hear out someone who has made many sacrifices to here and obtain the knowledge he’s gathered! Let Maverick Fallon come forward and speak from where I stand!”

He lifted his hand toward the crowd, his eyes searching for the man he’d called for.

It didn’t shock Isabella or Natalie that many of the Suits around them made quick draw of their guns and began searching the crowd for him as well. They didn’t need to search long. Gasps and cries and shouts of terror were trailing through the air one by one as the crowd parted and the Suits braced themselves as Natalie’s father stepped back to stand with her and Isabella held her breath.

Maverick marched through the crowd, head held high, hands clenched into fists, Yukio behind him, just as confident and determined…Maverick’s Drone father stalking next to his son.

People jumped back at the sight of the Drone who only looked around at the crowd in the kind of frightened curiosity a dog would. A few Suits stood in front of them just as they were about to step up to the mansion, guns drawn.

Maverick only smirked and without missing a beat, a few Drones came out of nowhere and tackled the Suits, throwing their guns away but they only held the men down. Maverick stepped over the trembling Suits at the mercy of the Drones and gave a scoff of amusement. None of the other Suits attempted to stop him as he headed up the stairs of the mansion.

“Don’t be afraid,” he called to the crowd who whipped their attention to him as he climbed up the stairs then faced them. “These Drones are protecting you from the others surrounding the town. They’re holding off other squads of them at this moment.”

“What the hell is this?!” a man shouted from the crowd. “Who are you?!”

I’m the one who’s going to tell you the truth about the day of Lock-Dah,” Maverick replied as Yukio stepped to the camera, lifted his hand to it as he examined it then headed up the stairs as well to stand next to Maverick. “I’m someone who was orphaned by the Darkness in my parents and I’m the one who didn’t give up hope that they could be brought back from the dead.

“You all think Drones were lost in their darkness forever. I’m here to tell you that’s not true. The government deceived us and seeded fear and doubt in our minds. Those who have lost loved ones to the Darkness can have them back. The government said it couldn’t be done. Let me ask you, did the government even try to bring a Drone back to its human form?!”

“We did!” one of the Suits argued. “We captured one for observation! It died within two days!”

“You saw it with your own eyes?!” Maverick shot back. “Or one of your superiors told you about it?!”

“W-Well…” the Suit trailed off, his eyes shifting under his shades in nervousness. He had no good answer for him.

“You see?” Maverick called, addressing the crowd again. “Lies! Every damn word of it!”

“And what makes you think we’ll believe anything you tell us?!” another person shouted from the crowd. “What proof do you have that you’re telling the truth?!”

Maverick said nothing and only gestured to his Drone father who took the hint and stepped forward between his son and Yukio to address the crowd, still slumped on all fours like an ape.

“Here’s my proof,” Maverick finally said, solemnly. “This is my father, taken from me when I was only ten, but not completely. It’s his squad protecting you now, and he was there forty years ago. He saw the first Drone with his own eyes, and if you don’t believe me, he can tell you what happened to the president and his daughter forty years ago.”

Maverick and Yukio stepped back as one of the crowd shouted, “Drones don’t talk! You have no proof!”

“Listen,” was all Maverick’s father said and a gasp swept the crowd, followed by a murmur. “My son speaks truth. My speech, not so good, but good enough to tell truth of Lock-Dah. I saw Drone while guarding president forty years ago. Government said daughter was kidnapped. Not true. She was first Drone. The one I saw.”

“That’s a lie!” one of the crowd protested. “Why would the government lie to us?!”

“Bodyguards took power after Drone killed president,” Maverick’s father replied as his son took a small step forward to help him, but stepped back again. “Drone was his daughter. Government never tried to capture her to help. Too afraid.”

“I was labeled a fugitive for having a Drone in my home,” Maverick spoke up. “They didn’t want anyone figuring out that they could be cured or they would lose control of the country. The Suits would be dismantled if people decided to elect a new president, so they put the fear of God into them using the Drones. The Suits only want power. They could care less about people’s safety! They only care about power!”

“And what about you, huh?!” a person shouted from the crowd. “Aren’t you telling all of this to us to gain power?! You expect us to elect you president after you supposedly ‘save’ us from ignorance?!”

Everyone was silent as all eyes turned to Maverick. He gazed down in thought for a moment as everyone was still silent. He scoffed and looked at the man who had addressed him with a confidence in his eyes that made the man shrink back a bit.

“You do what you want,” Maverick smirked. “I could care less about ruling this damn place. All I know is, the people of this country need to know the truth of this forty year conspiracy, and before I leave this world, dammit, I’ll tell the entire world the truth about Lock-Dah!”

Isabella allowed one sob to jerk her shoulders, but quickly composed herself as a tear ran down her cheek. No one but Natalie glanced at her, even though Maverick had heard her as well but he didn’t dare look at her. If he did, he would lose all that confidence thick in his voice. He hadn’t seen her since that morning, but it had felt like ages since he’d left her at the Barrier.

“Why should we believe you?” one of the crowd called out after a moment of awkward silence. “This could be some huge hoax for all we know!”

Maverick gave his confident smirk and raised a hand to stop Yukio when he opened his mouth to argue. The younger man quickly closed it again and shrunk back as Maverick gestured to one of the Suits under a Drone. The Drone snarled and climbed off the Suit who shot to his feet and dusted himself off before looking at Maverick.

“Tell me,” Maverick began, coolly, “and think about this before you lie through your teeth. Isn’t the real reason you’re after me because I was close to finding out the truth? Isn’t it because I had a Drone that was making progress in becoming human again, contradicting the government’s lie that they couldn’t come back? You bastards knew where I was and what I was doing for who knows how long and you were just watching me to see how far I’d get, right?”

“That’s enough, Maverick.”

He froze at the sound of the familiar voice, but the gasp after it made him whirl around to stare at the place Isabella was standing. His breath caught, silently at the sight he was met with, but shock and disbelief turned to hot, boiling anger at seeing Isabella being restrained by an arm around her shoulders, a gun at her temple.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Yukio?” Maverick seethed through clenched teeth, holding up a hand to his father who was ready to pounce on the younger man, but stopped at Maverick’s silent command. Isabella’s eyes were as wide as saucers as she trembled and Mr. Keith yanked his daughter back when Natalie tried to help her friend.

“I’m doing what I was ordered to,” Yukio replied, emotionlessly. “You can’t say any more, Mave. It’s over. That camera in front of the fountain isn’t even on. I turned it off.”

Maverick fought the urge to look back at the camera, anger at being deceived and that a gun was being held to the woman he loved searing through his mind and heart. The edges of his vision had a reddish tint coming to them.

“What you were ordered to do, huh?” Maverick seethed. “By whom, you sneaky son of a bitch?”

“You don’t know the whole story, and you don’t need to know, Mave,” Yukio replied, unmoving as Isabella still trembled. “Don’t make me hurt Izzy, ok? Just stop talking and turn yourself in. You and your dad with his squad.”

“You’ve already hurt her, Yukio,” Maverick replied, knowing his betrayal had carved a deep wound in all of their hearts. “And if I don’t know the whole story, why don’t you explain it to me, or was that just a line to make yourself out as the victim here?”

“Don’t play cocky with me, Mave!” Yukio snarled, the barrel of the gun slightly tapping Isabella’s head and making her whimper. “I’ve seen the way you are when faced with the Suits! Can you act the same way with me behind that name?!”

“You’re no Suit, Yukio,” Maverick replied, “and you’re far from the Greenhorn you were. You don’t know how to play with the big dogs, though. But if it’s a fight you’re looking for…”

Without another word he leaned toward Natalie and yanked her from her father’s grasp. He held her close to him with an arm around her shoulders, a gun of his own which he’d pulled from his belt and held to her temple with the other hand, his eyes stone cold as he stared at Yukio and Isabella’s astonished faces.

“M-Maverick, that’s not going to help!” Isabella trembled in wide-eyed confusion when Natalie wailed in fear. Mr. Keith moved to help his daughter, but Maverick’s Drone father leapt in front of him to stop the man who stared at the Drone in wide-eyed disbelief.

“Wait,” the Drone murmured.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Mave?!” Yukio shouted, his hand shaking as he began to tremble violently as well.

“It’s a standoff you want, right?” Maverick replied calmly, ignoring Natalie’s whimpers and the crowd behind him that was staring n at the scene intently, wondering what would happen next. “Alright, kid, what’s it gonna be? You may have been able to get away with lying to me pretty well, but I can see it in your face and hear it in your tone…you love this girl. You won’t let me kill her.”

He watched carefully as Yukio shuddered, breathing so heavily that everyone thought he would hyperventilate and pass out. His hands and knees were shaking, his eyes were as round as the moon above and the hand on Isabella’s shoulder was balling into a fist around it.

“Well, kid?” Maverick called. “What’s it gonna be?”

Yukio’s eyes were shooting gazes in every direction. He was panicked and Maverick thought he knew why. Letting down his weapon, he shoved Natalie back to her father who welcomed her with open arms from his stance in front of Maverick’s father. Maverick stepped toward Yukio and Isabella, the younger man still trembling.

“They’re not gonna get you, Yukio,” he assured, gently.

“Stay back, Maverick!” Yukio shrieked, the gun shaking tapping Isabella’s temple again. “I-I’ll shoot her!”

“You don’t wanna shoot her any more than I wanted to shoot Natalie, kid,” Maverick replied, still walking toward him. “You saw yourself the squad of Drones set up around the town. The Suits don’t have anything on them.”

“Maverick!” Isabella shouted in warning, but he didn’t turn around in time and froze when he felt the barrel of a gun on the base of his skull allowing him to hear clearly the action of the hammer cocking back to fire.

“Don’t move, Mr. Fallon,” the Suit warned from behind him, then he looked around him at Yukio. “Good job, Mr. Hayate. You’ll be rewarded as promised, and the ones you care for will be threatened no longer---”

The Suit was cut off when he shouted in terror as Maverick’s father tackled him to the ground. The gun went off before he hit the ground and the bullet buried itself in Maverick’s thigh when he whirled around. He gave a strangled cry of pain and knelt on one knee but quickly shot back up, gritting his teeth against the pain.

“Stop telling them!” the Suit screamed. “They can’t know! It’ll ruin everything!”

“Shut your mouth, you idiot!” a Suit from beneath another Drone growled at him, but everyone had heard him. Maverick took that opportunity to prove his point.

“You see?” he shrugged, matter-of-factly then struggled to turn to Yukio who still held Isabella, but his gun was slowly lowering to his side. “Yukio?”

The younger man’s wide-eyed gaze shot to his and he still trembled, his breathing erratic. Maverick slowly limped toward him, a hand out to him.

“Give me the gun, kid,” he requested, gently.

Yukio looked at the gun in his hand as Isabella trembled as well, but didn’t turn to look at him. He looked back at Maverick, paler than a sheet, the gun slowly sliding from his hand and when it hit the ground he turned his gaze to Isabella and spun her around frantically, panic covering his face.

“I had to do it, Izzy!” he explained, knowing he had to, but he couldn’t explain it to anyone but her. She was the only one that would understand, he hoped. “The Suits said they were gonna kill you if I didn’t do it! All those times I went out, giving them reports…I had to! I was protecting you! Please don’t be mad, Izzy! No one was supposed to get hurt when they came to Maverick’s pad! I didn’t wanna do any of it, but I didn’t wanna lose you, Izzy! Don’t be hate me, please!” Yukio pulled Isabella into a tight, desperate, hug as he cried, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry for everything!”

Isabella stood as still as a statue, wide, golden eyes staring at nothing, her face paler than pale, still in shock. Maverick turned back to the crowd, a hand on his leg, covering the wound on his thigh and held a hand out to his side.

“Whether you believe me anymore or not, it doesn’t matter to me now,” he admitted. “You’ve witnessed the manipulative ways tonight, first hand, and I’ve said my piece. Now, I suggest you all go home before my father and his squad leave as well.”

“We can’t leave yet!” a man from the crowd shouted and Maverick frowned in wonder at him. “Come on, people! The Central Building isn’t far from here! Let’s show these damned Suits what we think of all their lies and deception!”

The crowd roared in agreement and turned to hurry down the lit streets as the group on the steps pf the Keith mansion watched in astonishment at the revolution they’d started. The Drones on the Suits moved away for a few from the crowd to grab hold of them and drag them with the crowd, kicking and screaming to be let go and being punched to silence them.

“Maverick?” Yukio called and the older man turned to him with a bit of a limp and Yukio swallowed, his mouth agape after doing so. He looked exhausted, and Maverick knew he was. “It was a lie. The camera…I never turned it off. I said that for the Suits. I-I’m sorry, Mave! I didn’t mean for it to go that far---!”

“Yukio!” Natalie called and he turned in time to catch her when she ran into his arms and hugged him close. Without hesitation, she pulled away and kissed him as is she hadn’t seen him in years.

“I was so frightened,” she shuddered, hugging him again. “Don’t you ever do that again!”

“Natalie---”

“Just tell me you won’t!”

Yukio sighed in defeat, hugging her back after another moment and whispering, “I won’t, Natalie. I swear.”

Natalie began sobbing into his shoulder and Maverick looked up at Isabella at the exact same moment she looked at him as well. His heart sank at her appearance. Her eyes were huge and glassy from threatening tears, her skin was so pale, she could have passed for a Drone if not for her eye and hair color and the fact that she stood erect.

She only stared at him and he stared back, waiting for everything to sink in then held a hand to her, beckoning her to his embrace. She ran toward him and he gave a grunt when she rammed into him but held her with one arm, his hand still on his thigh. He felt her shudder and heard her choked sobs but only pulled her closer.

“It’s alright, Bell,” he murmured, stroking her hair, soothingly. “It’s all over. It’s finished.”

“Not quite,” Mr. Keith argued, drawing everyone’s attention. “What about this uprising you’ve just started? Now that the people know everything, they’ll need a leader. They’ll ask you.”

“Maverick, don’t do it!” Isabella breathed, gazing up at him and gripping his shirt in her fists at his chest. He looked back at her desperate, wide-eyed gaze as she repeated, “Don’t do it! Don’t become a leader in a revolution! It’ll only take you away from me, and it may be selfish, but I can’t live without you! If you were killed…I-I wouldn’t know what to do! Please don’t let them make you their leader for their uprising!” She wrapped her arms under his to rest her head on his chest as he still held her and she began sobbing again.

“Hey, Bell?” he called, gently after a moment and when she looked up at him their eyes locked as he said, “I hadn’t planned on helping out. The people are on their own now.”

Maverick felt his heart swell when Isabella’s face lit up and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him with all the passion she possessed. He deepened the kiss before pulling away and Isabella grinned so widely, Maverick was afraid her face would stay that way.

“Well,” Yukio called, hesitantly. “What now?”

“Now we head back to Joshua’s,” Maverick replied and turned to his Drone father. “What do you say, dad?”

“Go,” he nodded. “My squad stay here. Protect city. I go with you. Protect you.”

“Thanks,” Maverick nodded and pulled Isabella under his arm with a smirk as he asked, “Be my crutch for a bit?”

She nodded and said, “After we get to Joshua’s, I’ll help him with your leg.”

“Nah,” Maverick groaned as they headed down the steps, thanking Mr. Keith on the way with Yukio, Natalie and Maverick’s Drone father. “I’ll have better things for you to do while Joshua fixes me up. Let’s just get there first.”

“And Yukio?” she whispered, stopping herself and Maverick. He frowned and turned to see Yukio, scared stiff and Natalie latched to his arm. Maverick only smirked and looked back at Isabella.

“I’m not worried about him,” he shrugged, starting down the stairs again.

“You’re not mad at him?” she wondered in shock.

“Bell,” he began, stopping at the bottom step and turning her so they were face to face. “You’re not, and the camera feeding this to the whole country is still on. I can’t be mad. Besides, I know him. He may be sneaky, but he has too much heart to kill his friends.”

Not far down the street they heard crashes and shouting, making them all jump and Natalie gripped Yukio’s arm a little tighter.

“Natalie?” Mr. Keith called, drawing everyone’s attention. “Come inside before you get hurt. I have a feeling a riot will begin soon, if it hasn’t already.”

Natalie looked back up at Yukio with sorrow filled eyes, knowing her father was probably right, but not wanting to leave Yukio.

“I’ll come to see you when the dust settles,” he assured her, pulling his arm from her grip and placing his hands on her shoulders. “Go inside with your father and lock the door. Stay safe for me. Promise?”

Natalie nodded solemnly with a sniffle and Yukio pulled her toward him for a kiss before gently guiding her to her father. She stopped and looked back at him to shudder, “Be careful, please?”

He nodded and the four watched her and her father go back inside before heading toward the Barrier to meet Joshua. The man had stayed there when the younger men had entered with Maverick’s father and he was there still.

He helped Isabella crutch Maverick through the woods, his father leading the way and Yukio covering them from behind, Joshua’s rifle in one hand, the torch Joshua had brought in the other. Once back at the house, Joshua instructed Isabella to get a basin of water with a cloth as he sat Maverick on the couch and he told Yukio to start locking up the house.

“How do you always end up getting wounded in one way or another?” Joshua asked, ripping off a strip of his sleeve for a tourniquet.

“At least it lets me know I’m still alive, right?” Maverick smirked and Joshua scoffed as Isabella came back with the things Joshua had requested.

“Is there anything else you need?” she asked as Joshua dampened the coth in the water.

“Bring my medical bag from my office at the end of the hall, if you please, Miss?” he requested.

“Call me Isabella,” she replied, hurrying down the hall and Maverick watched Joshua watching Isabella.

“Hey!” he snapped, catching the doctor’s attention. “Mind keeping your eyes to yourself, old man?”

“Wow, Mave,” Yukio chuckled, coming back into the room. “I didn’t peg you for the jealous type.”

“He had goos reason to be,” Joshua chuckled back, ripping Maverick’s pant leg until it uncovered his wound. “She’s a beautiful girl.”

“Hey!” Maverick snapped again in disbelief. “What the hell are you doing?! These are my favorite pants!”

“Would you rather try taking them off?” Joshua retorted, dabbing the bullet wound with the wet cloth.

“I’ll fix them for you, Maverick,” Isabella assured him, coming in from the hall with a black bag and set it next to Joshua then sat down next to Maverick on the sofa.

“You won’t want to see this, Isabella,” Joshua warned, opening the bag and rummaging through it. “I have to get the bullet out of his leg.”

“I’m no stranger to blood, doctor,” she replied, taking Maverick’s hand as he only stared at her. “Wounds don’t turn my stomach.”

“It’s very different when it’s someone you love, though,” Joshua replied, pulling out a pair of pliers and a roll of bandages from his bag.

Isabella said nothing and blushed instead as she cast her eyes down to her hands as they still held hands. She caught a glimpse of Joshua lifting the pliers to Maverick’s leg and gripped his hand as her heart raced in panic. He’d been right, it was different.

“Don’t move,” Joshua instructed Maverick and Isabella felt his hand tighten around one of hers to brace himself. He bit his lip to mask the pain as Joshua dug around carefully in his thigh for the bullet and Yukio came up behind Joshua’s shoulder but stayed at a good distance to let him work.

“Damn, Mave,” Yukio sneered, but no one responded as Joshua pulled the bullet out slowly and examined it.

“Thing went right through your pants,” he stated the obvious. “But it didn’t take any material with it, it looks like.”

“And if it had?” Yukio wondered as Joshua dropped the bullet in the water basin for lack of a better place for it.

“If it had, I’d have had to operate on his leg to get the cloth out with it, otherwise it would have festered,” Joshua explained, placing the pliers in the basin as well and going for the bandages. “Clothing belongs on a person, not in them.”

Maverick scoffed as he leaned his head on Isabella’s shoulder, tiredly. It was one of those phrases Joshua made up and said like it was the wisdom of the ages. He’d heard a lot of those when living her, and he laughed at every one because the irony was, most of them were true, if random.

“Let me,” Isabella requested as Joshua began wrapping Maverick’s leg, but the younger man pulled her back when she moved to get up. She frowned at him in confusion but he only buried his face in the crook of her neck, making her blush again as he only sighed in contentment. Joshua scoffed and continued wrapping the man’s leg as Yukio rolled his eyes but felt a pang of envy because Natalie wasn’t there with him.

“So, now that you’ve started an uprising, what are you gonna do?” Joshua asked as he tied the bandage off. “Or had you even thought of that?”

Maverick sighed again, this time in exhaustion and lifted his head to rest his chin on Isabella’s shoulder and stare at her.

“I was thinking I’d leave this place,” he finally replied after a moment of silence and Isabella snapped her gaze to him as Joshua knew he’d been forgotten and started gathering his things.

“What?!” she breathed with wide eyes.

“Wouldn’t you wanna see what’s going on in the world?” he questioned back, coolly and unmoving from her shoulder. “Maybe I’ll go to the Orient, or some exotic place where no one knows me.”

“But…why?” Isabella breathed again. “Why leave? Don’t you like it here?”

“I used to,” Maverick admitted. “Now, I really can’t stand it here.”

“Oh,” she replied, vacantly and cast her eyes down in her lap to twiddle her thumbs.

Maverick frowned and sat up slightly, still looking at her as he asked, “What’s wrong?” She only shook her head but he continued, “Don’t you wanna travel the world and see new things and meet new people?”

Isabella snapped her gaze back at him, not noticing Joshua smirk as he picked up his things and walked away to put them away.

“Y-You mean…?” she breathed, trailing off in disbelief at what he had said but he only smirked.

“You didn’t think I’d leave here without you, did you?” he replied and she gasped, throwing her arms around him as he caught her. “I’ll take that as a ‘Yes, I’ll come with you’?”

“Yes!” Isabella giggled, pulling away to kiss his face everywhere she could reach, repeating with glee, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”