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Reed's Storyline part 11 - Basically best buds

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The cleanup of black town went rather quickly, they blew up most buildings, destroyed, and burned everything the rebels had built. In the late afternoon, when the structures had been leveled with the ground Reed tried to find Chemical to report.

"I want a phone call!" Leon protested as he hung over Reed’s shoulder when He marched over the crumbled ruins.

"Do you really think you'll get an attorney?" Reed asked, tired of Leon's blabbering.

"You never know, did you know I am a double agent?" Leon answered.

"Why would a double agent take pride in killing a chemical general?" Reed asked irritated. He had come to a point where Leon was nothing more than an annoyance. His attempts to get free seemed more and more desperate for every minute.

"I helped Delmar get inside Blacktown, would a rebel do that?"

"He's good at screwing with your head, I doubt you willingly brought him here. Don't try to use him to 'prove' your innocence. Tell me where he is and I might consider believing you." Reed suggested, but instead, Leon spat on his face.

"Screw you, bucko!"

Reed groaned, smeared the spit from his chin, and yet again used the silvergun as a way to get some peace and quiet for another 30 minutes.

Reed found Chemical at the bottom of the large temple ruin. They had left the untouched parts standing, while the altered pieces had been broken and demolished. Chemical was now planting trees on top of the ruined parts to make it look like natural decay where nature had taken its toll. He tossed a bunch of seeds over the rocks, they immediately sprouted and a few seconds later there was a grove of lush trees.

"Reed." Chemical greeted him as he noticed his general climbing over the debris.

"Master." Reed bowed, "all areas are secured, all prisoners collected and all evidence destroyed. We are ready to go home, sir."

"Reed, why do you have a lemur over your shoulder?" Chemical asked concerned.

"It's a prisoner sir."

"Then, why is he not with the other prisoners?"

"He's got valuable information. I don't want him to get lost among the others." Reed reported.

"Information such as?"

"He might know Delmar's whereabouts. I can probably squeeze his location from this rebel."

"Has anyone asked you to find the psychic?" Chemical asked sternly.

"No, but…"

"It's below your dignity to take personal war prisoners," Chemical said and took Leon from Reed's shoulder. "Why is he still unconscious?"

"It's the sedative."

"It's been hours since the siege, have you shot him to keep him out?" Chemical asked as he inspected the fresh wounds of the bullets.

"But sir, don't you want to find Delmar?" Reed asked a bit desperate.

"Not this way."

"But sir…"

"No Reed, I know how you treat your captives. You need to respect friend and foe." Chemical sighed and carefully lay down Leon on the ground. "I'll take care of this rebel and make sure he's with the other prisoners, and I don't want to hear about this again."

"But I need to find Delmar." Reed objected.

"You need to find the psychic? Why? He's not your concern." Chemical answered dismissively.

"I… I thought he was important to the case?"

"That is not a reason as to why you must find him. Please, Reed, lying doesn't suit you and you are not very good at it. Just tell me the truth." Chemical sighed. Reed squirmed, looked uncomfortable, and then bowed.

“I’m worried for him that's all.”

“Is it though? Is that really all? It still sounds like a weak excuse to carry around your very own war prisoner.”

“...and I miss him." Reed mumbled barely audible.

"Ah, now we're getting somewhere. So you miss him? That sounds like a more plausible excuse." Chemical said a bit kinder and lay a hand on Reed’s shoulder. "Talk to me, I'm not stupid."

Reed’s glance wandered, avoiding looking straight at his master.

"I haven't talked to him since the night of the explosion, yet he's there all the time. I cross path with people who has met him, he sends information my way, and he leaves a clear trail impossible for me to follow because I have to follow your orders. He's one step ahead of me all the time. I'm just worried, what happens if he fucks up? What if I'll never get to see him again? What if he dies out there and the only way I can learn about it is by realizing that the trail got cold? No… it's not a question of if he fucks up. It's a question of when. I need to find him before that happens." Reed made a short pause. "I don't want to find him dead."

"Tell me, what is he like?" Chemical asked.

"What do you mean?" Reed glanced up at Chemical expecting to find a stern judging look on his face, but instead Chemical looked sympathetically at him.

"As a person." He clarified.

Reed looked down on the ground again and sighed.

"Well, I can't say I completely understand him and everything he's going through, but I don't consider him to be an all bad person anymore. I've learned to know him so much better since we were teamed up. Now I would rather say he's lost. There's so much information processing though his head that he simply forgets what's right and wrong. Sometimes he has no idea of how he should behave since he's been an outcast almost his entire life. Before he was an outcast, his whole education was disrupted by his abilities. He couldn't focus on what teachers told him, and he never learned how to control his war forms properly. I suspect his mentor never finished his education at all. Delmar got the wrong kind of training. Since he was so different he was labeled crazy so many times he started to believe it himself. It's an evil circle."

"Hmm." Chemical grunted. He looked sad. It felt strange to Reed. Sure he had seen Chemical sad on a few occasions before, but there was usually an understandable reason to it. Chemical knew nothing about Delmar, they had barely even met, and the few times they had, Delmar had disrespected him every single time.

"Is something wrong master?"

"No, please continue."

"I believe he needs someone who can help him with his moral compass, then he could become a normal citizen and an essential part of the society." Reed bowed yet again. "With all due respect sir, I would like to go looking for him."

"No, request denied." Chemical answered, let go of his shoulder and turned away. Reed’s heart sunk like a stone. "I need you, Reed. I need you here, in the society, doing your job. Not running after your crush in the forest. If your feelings for him are answered, he will come back for you."

"You misunderstand sir!" Reed objected. "I don't lov…"

"You're dismissed, Reed. Make sure the army packs up and returns home again." Chemical interrupted him.

"Yes sir." Reed answered and bowed.


***

Leon awoke on a cold hard stone platter. His head pulsed with pain, and dark patches and stars danced over his blurred vision. As he sat up he heard the sound of a metal chain scraping against the rock. The chain was attached to a choker around his neck. The other end lay under a big broad hand. He followed the arm up and to the other person's face. Leon recognized him within a second.

"Ah, shit, shit, shit!" Panicky he crawled away from the big man but the chain stopped him.

"Good morning Leon." Chemical said calmly. He sat beside him on the pebble looking out over the landscape of the destroyed village and newly planted forest. The army had already left the ruined town, and Chemical had stayed to finish the forests. Leon fell back on his bum, sat paralyzed, and stared with his big yellow lemur eyes up at Chemical. Chemical sighed.

"What should I do with you Leon?"

"Eh…? Ehehehe..." Leon laughed nervously. "Let me go?" He suggested. "For old times’ sake? My friends' friends are my friends. You were Cain’s lover. That's like an ultra-friend. That basically makes you my best bud."

"Fifty sharp loaded rifles, three terror robots with unlicensed anti shifter tech. Gods know what more. People died here today because of you."

"Cain would've told you to let me go." Leon tried to point out.

"Now, Cain’s not here, is he?" Chemical said as a matter of fact.

"You could honor his memory by letting me go?" Leon grinned nervously.

"Is it true that you know where his son is?"

"No! Nu-hu. No way. Haven't got a clue. That kid is lost as a goose in a snowstorm. I haven't seen him since he left Blacktown, and now he's outside my radar." Leon made clear quickly.

"Did he say anything about where he was heading?"

"Nope! Nothing. I'm clueless."

"Funny." Chemical scoffed.

"What's funny? I'm telling you the truth! For once I'm brutally honest with you!"

"It would've been your ticket out of that choker."

"I…" Leon fell silent for a short moment. "What?" He then shook his head dismissively. "I would never sell out my friends for my own freedom!"

"I don't want you to sell him out."

"Then… what?" Leon asked confused.

"You see, I would find it most unfortunate if you revealed his location when they question you during your trial or your punishment. Then I'd rather see you disappear with that knowledge."

"Then why not just kill me here and now?" Leon asked suspiciously. Chemical shrugged.

"You can see it as a token of our friendship. Though, I'm not sure I would go so far as to call us 'best buds'." he paused. "But, since you don't know his location I think it's safe to throw you in a cell with the rest of your associates."

"Ah, wait, wait! I do know! In fact, I could point you straight in is direction if you'd like… wait… are you using reverse psychology on me right now? Because in that case, I don't know!" Leon exclaimed. Chemical just glared at him.

"I appreciate that you have honor enough to not sell him out for your own freedom."

"Man, this got complicated…" Leon stroke his neck anxiously.

"It's simple."

"If I tell you I don't know where he is you'll throw me in your dungeon and if I'll tell you I know, you'll release me. But the only way to prove I know his location is to tell you where he is and by doing that I would sell him out to the society. If I refuse to tell you where he is you'll throw me under the bus and let your soldiers and judges squeeze it out of me by torture instead."

"So you do know where he is?" Chemical asked.

"This is a catch 22 man!" Leon exclaimed upset.

Chemical groaned.

"How many rebels will you let out if I tell you?!" Leon demanded.

"None, they are criminals awaiting trials."

"That's a bummer. Of course, I could tell you a lie and give you the wrong direction, but you'd probably not release me before he was found so that wouldn't matter anyway."

"Do you know? That's all I want to know." Chemical sighed.

"And when you'd realize that I was not telling the truth you would probably kill me on the spot."

"Leon, I'm asking you a simple question. There is a simple answer, yes or no."

"There's no such thing as a simple answer! You'll screw us over either way!" Leon exclaimed. "I think the interesting question right now is what way out of this maze will bring me the least pain!"

"I can assure you not answering the question will not bring you least pain." Chemical answered irritated.


Suddenly the sky lit up in bright light. It caught the attention of both of them. The light disappeared as soon as it had appeared and a sickly orange-yellow glow illuminated the dusky sky. At the horizon, they could see a mushroom cloud far, far away. Alarmed Chemical got up and looked at the cloud, this was the second one in a week. Nothing lay in that direction. Nothing but forests and wasteland. The black shifters had been nowhere to find in Blacktown so either nuclear had solved their problems or he was dead now. Maybe both…


Chemical turned back to Leon only to find he was alone. Leon had taken the opportunity to escape. It didn't matter, it was for the best. Worried he turned back to the cloud unsure if it was related to the siege or how it would egg on the war.


Reed's narrative is branching off from Delmar's so he's getting his own headline for the time being. :) (Smile)



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