Genevieve pushed herself from the bed and went over to the window, it was dark and countless stars were decorating the night sky. Another thing she was not able to see in Benevolence, she loved to see them. She sat down and gazed upwards, maybe she should ask Rycharde for a book on stars and constellations. A soft knock landed on the door, she didn't reply. It was probably Rycharde, who would come in any way. Even if, she didn't reply, but she got slightly confused when another knock landed. She turned towards the door and frowned, Rycharde never knocked twice. So if this wasn't Rycharde who was it?

"Come in," she said when a knock landed for the third time. The door opened and a woman with golden blond hair stepped in. Her golden eyes were gleaming in the darkness of the room, but she was not alone. A woman with brown hair that was tight back into a ponytail was behind her. Genevieve stood up and walked away from the window. She didn't know who these women were, and even if they introduced themselves, she wouldn't feel safe sitting at a spot where she can be pushed. It was twenty stories down, something that would kill her for sure. "Who are you, does Rycharde know that you are here?" The blond woman nodded, her golden eyes were taking her in.

"I am Jessica, and my friend over here is Vanessa. We are Rycharde's new charges." Jessica said and Vanessa nodded slowly. So these were the new Freedom Fighters that Rycharde created, they were the reason why Rycharde left her and the others. Did they know what was happening inside Benevolence? On the other hand, it was not their job to focus on another city. "And you are?"

"Genevieve," she replied. "Genevieve Thorne."

"Pleasant, now that we know each other's names. Let us all be frank with one and other," Jessica said. But Vanessa placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Jessica, slow down. She has being through enough," Vanessa said, but her blue eyes told Genevieve all that she needed to know. She agreed with every word Jessica was saying, and so did Genevieve. It was better that everything was out and in the open.

"You all want me to kick Rycharde out of the apartment, which is something I have tried many times. But he is a grown ass man, who wouldn't leave until I am okay. And from woman to woman, I am not okay. I doubt I ever will be, but I am willing to fake it." Genevieve said, while crossing her arms. She turned away from the women and gazed out of the window. No, she would never be okay, and that is something she needed to learn how to deal with it. Someone walked over to her, and she didn't know who it was until the arms of Vanessa were surrounding her. Genevieve fought against the urge to punch her, it was a hug. There was nothing harmful, just a hug. "Uhm, next time, give me a warning." Vanessa jumped away from her.

"Sorry," she said. "It seemed to me that you needed one." Which can be true, but still. After what happened with Justin. Genevieve locked eyes with Jessica, who simply nodded.

"You are lucky she didn't kick your butt," Jessica said, she walked over to the window and sat down. Vanessa and Genevieve followed her. "But thank you, for understanding. I have to say that I was surprised to see someone like you here." Genevieve tilted her head slightly, she wondered what Jessica meant by that. "I mean, you are quite beautiful." 

"So are you," Genevieve said, and Jessica gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you, but that was not what I am trying to say. Rycharde always told stories about you, about how strong and smart you are. He never said anything about your looks." Genevieve cursed slightly while turning her gaze towards the floor, the metal that supposed to look like wood was strangely enough comforting. He had talked about her, she sighed.

"Please do me one favor," she said. "Do not compare me to the Genevieve of Rycharde's stories. I am no longer that girl." She stood up and walked over to the window. "She died three years ago, right after he left, and Justin got free-range to do with her what he wanted." She hoped that Rycharde also told them about Justin.

"What did he do too you?" Vanessa asked. "You do not have to answer me, if you do not want to." Which was sweet.

"Well, I already know about one thing, so you can leave that one out." Jessica said. "I saw how you reacted when Vanessa hugged you." Genevieve nodded and she smiled. Not that they saw it, she was standing with her back towards them after all.

"I was fifteen when I joined the Freedom Fighters. My adoptive parents were already working for Rycharde inside his apothecary. Justin was the one who trained me, he taught me everything I needed. Like Rycharde told you, I was strong and smart. But not smart enough to not fall in love with Justin. He was my mentor, and a bit older. But I fall for him hard, and he knew it. At first, I gave him everything, but then he started to take it. By force if needed. One day I fought back, he killed my adoptive parents because of that. After that, I only had the rest of my team. He killed them, as well, on the day that he burned Benevolence down." She said, and took a deep breath. Genevieve then noticed that she was crying. "Like I said, the strong and smart Genevieve died a few years ago. Now I fill my days with eating, training, going to the bathroom when needed and taking naps. So that I can look up at the stars, something I couldn't do in Benevolence. There was too much light pollution." She heard some rustling behind her and then felt slightly the arms of the two other women on each side.

"I am so sorry," Jessica whispered. "But thank you, for sharing this with us. What has being said here, will not leave this room. You have my word." Vanessa nodded slowly, clearly agreeing with Jessica's statement. 

Genevieve wanted to thank them, and she was glad that these women were friendly. The women who were part of the Freedom Fighters at home always side eyed her. Which could be chalked up with them being in love with Justin as well, what explained things, but this doesn't excuse their behavior. She lowered her head, and started to whip the tears away.

"I really can use that huge right now," she whispered. But Jessica and Vanessa still heard her, they wrapped their bodies around her. "Thank you, thank you so much." Jessica, placed her he

ad on Genevieve's shoulder. The door of the apartment flew open, the three women jumped up, turned around to see what was going on.

"Rycharde, Rycharde. By the wasteland, where is he?" It was the voice of a young man. Jessica frowned, slightly. 

"Is that Jacob?" Vanessa asked, Jessica nodded, and they rushed out of the room. Genevieve followed them, a man with short brown hair stood in the living room. His face was badly brushed, and the smell of blood directly stung Genevieve's noise. He didn't need to say much, she already knew that something bad has happened. "Jacob, weren't you on a mission with the others?"

"I was, but it was a trap. I escaped,"  Jacob said, he was panting heavily. "Those bastards are forcing Mycheall to kill the mayor, while they hold Joshua and Deryck at gun point." Genevieve gasp, no, no. This was not going to happen, not to this group. Not if she could help it.

"Do the two of you know how to fight?" Genevieve asked Jessica and Vanessa, and the both of them nodded. "The three of you go with him and free the others. I will go after this, Mycheall." The both of them now frowned and were about to say something. "There is no time like the present, and right now every second counts." She rushed out of the door.

"Wait, Genevieve. Do you know where you need to go?" Jessica shouted after her. Yes, she knew, training doesn't only mean the body. But also the mind, she has studied the map of this city. She had heard some conversations between Rycharde and someone, and they always talked about a few empty warehouses. All of them were inside the Carnburg district, which was known for the waterfront industry. But to get there, she needed to get passed Mason's Market, the poorest district of town. And not a place a woman should be alone, after dark. But it was through that district that those bastards would go to get to city hall. It was filled to the brim with criminal activity, run by gangs, and police wouldn't bet an eye if they saw something minor. They would react if someone got hurt, or that was at least the case inside Benevolence, she didn't know how things were run inside Maraud. She ran through the streets, the streetlights provided enough light to spot any holes inside the road. She ran until she saw what she needed to see, a man that was pushed forward inside a dark alley way. They were at the edge of Mason's Market, so she was just in time. She moved herself into a small cove, that the alley provided, and now all she needed to do was wait.

********

A chilly wind blew through the busted windows, the smell of rotting food still lingered in the air. It has been a while since this place had seen fresh products, or savory people. These run down, empty warehouse was once a bustling place with hardworking people. Crops that left the farms were stored here for a brief period of time, before they traveled towards the stores or markets inside the city. But then the waterfront industry took this district over, forcing the raw food industry to move to the Winmead. A lot of people of Mason's Market that worked here were fired, the waterfront didn't need them all, and the other companies that were here had their own people. Leaving a lot of Mason's Market unemployed, crime took over the streets. Mychaell glanced around, his parents had worked inside this building. Before it shut down, his father was able to get a job with the new warehouse. Which took him two to three hours on foot, but the pay was decent enough to make that trip every day. His mother on the other hand was not as lucky, but soon after she got fired, she found out that she was expecting. So she stayed home raising him, until his father got killed on his way home. His mother turned towards alcohol, and sold herself to earn money for her liquor. Forgetting from time to time that she had a son to feed. A son who turned towards crime, until he met Rycharde. Now he was part of the Freedom Fighters, and this filled him with a sense of pride. The last time he checked, his mother was still alive and drunk. Joshua stood next to him, jumping from one foot to another. Mychaell knew that he had a similar story, but he never prides further then the basic's. Derick cursed under his breath, which was a bit strange. Derick was not only the brains, but also the most level-headed and is he lost his cool, then something was really wrong. Mychaell glanced over to his friend, two men armed with guns slowly walked towards them. Now it was his time to curse, Jessica was right. This was a bad idea.

"We are here on the invitation of mister Dixton." Mychaell said, knowing that this doesn't change a single thing. "He said that he had another job for us." Two more men dropped from the ceiling, and started to beat down Joshua, Derick and Jacob. Mychaell wanted to rush towards them, but stopped when he felt the muzzle of a gun against his temple.

"Ohh, they know that we have business, mister Leman." Mister Dixton said. His voice sounded so slimy that it made Mychaell want to take a long and hot shower. "They are here to make sure that the business goes according to plan." The sound of multiple gunshots became audible, Mychaell turned his head to see what was going on. Only to see that Jacob has broken free and running away. "Leave him, the other two are more than enough. Besides that, the boy doesn't know our plans." Which was true, and somewhere Mychaell was glad that Jacob menaced to escape. Jacob was the youngest of the Freedom Fighters and shouldn't be present in a mission like this one. A mission that is going massively wrong. "Well mister Leman, now that you know how serious this is, let me tell you what you need to do. You need to kill the mayor." Mychaell's eyes grew wide, this was bad, really bad. "I do not have to tell you what would happen to your friends if you refuse." No, he didn't have to tell him. Joshua and Derick were laying on the ground, guns were placed on the back of their heads.

"I do it," Mychaell said through gritted teeth. He really didn't want to, but he didn't have any other choice. Was this also something that the girl had experienced? Was she forced to make a decision like this? He wouldn't be surprised if she had, and now that he experienced it for himself, he started to understand her slightly.

"I knew you were a smart man," mister Dixton said. This had nothing to do with being smart, he didn't want to his friends being killed. "Well let us be off then." He grabbed Mychaell by the shoulders and pushed him towards the exit. From the corner of his eye, Mychaell was able to see Jacob, he was hiding behind a large stack of empty crates. Good now he knew about the plan, and was able to get informed help. All he needed to do right now is to stall, which wouldn't be easy. But there was nothing else he could do without getting his friends in mortal danger. They walked through the small alleyways of Mason's Market, a place he once called home. He even spotted his old house, the large pile of empty liquor bottles was stacked besides the door. A woman that looked a lot like his drunken mother was leaning against the door, kissing some man. So she was bringing her clients home nowadays, which was smart. If one passed out after the deed, she could charge him extra for housing and maybe for an extra round. 

The sight of his mother, alive, didn't bring him any comfort. He apparently had stopped walking, because the next thing he knew was the muzzle of the gun aimed at his back. "What are you looking at?" Mister Dixton asked, and then he heard the man snort. "Ohh, yes, that woman knows how to make her costumers happy. I heard she had a man once, and a kid. Don't know what happened to them." Mychaell closed his eyes and started walking. "Wait, you know what happened to them, don't you?"

"Her man was killed, and the kid ran away." Mychaell said, without too much emotion. "After a couple of months starving for something more than a few bites of stale bread." He looked up, to see where he was walking. There was a hole in the ground, this could help to stall the both of them a bit more. 

He walked straight towards it while mister Dixton was yelping away behind him. Stuff about his mother, things he really didn't want to know. He stepped into the hole, and fall. He quickly moved his hands forward so that he would catch himself. But there was something he didn't see, a very sharp stick hanging just in front of the hole. The stick cut through his clothes and flesh, he hissed from the pain. Quickly hoping that it wasn't too deep.

"What are you doing?" Mister Dixton asked loudly.

"Sorry, it is not that I want to get hurt on purpose." Mychaell snapped back at the man. Which was a bit of a lie, but mister Dixton didn't need to know that.

"You better get up and quick, we do not want to get caught. Because you know what would happen to your friends, if that happens." Mister Dixton hissed. Yes, he did know, and he hoped that Jacob did his part well. He got up and started walking again, they were almost at the edge of the district. Something crept inside the alleyway, or rather, someone with blazing red hair. He only saw a glimpse of her, before she hid inside a cove. What was she doing here? 

How did she know that the cove was even there? So many questions right now, but he kept on walking. He barely made eye contact with her, and he was stunned to see the most beautiful blue eyes. She winked playfully at him, and then kicked at mister Dixton's hand, the hand that was holding the gun. The weapon smashed against the wall and not much later mister Dixton followed. The head made contact, and he fell towards the ground. For a split second, Mychaell believed that the man was dead. But the girl knelt down next to him.

"He is still breathing," she said, emotionless. She stood up, turned towards him and grabbed his arm. "That needs stitches, but you will live, big boy." She quickly glanced around and then grabbed a piece of metal. "So that is also covered. Now, let's get out of here."

"I can't go, the others," Mychaell started, and she looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Vanessa, and Jessica?" She nodded, and he sighed, of course he could have known. The started to walk away when they noticed flashing lights.

"Fuck, well, at least I planted some evidence." she said. She looked at him, and smirked. "Please, follow my lead." He wanted to ask what she meant, this was just the police. But then it hit him, she was not a citizen. She was illegally inside the city, if she got caught, then there was nothing he or Rycharde could do to help her. She started to scream bloody murder, and threw herself into his arms. Sobbing, loudly. What in the Wasteland? The police men rushed towards them. "Thank you, thank you so much, kind sir. You saved me, you saved me from that man." He closed his eyes and cursed slightly, she was right now playing the victim, smart. Police wouldn't ask a lady in so much distress for her identification, if they are lucky, and she can keep this up. 

"What happened here?" one police officer asked, the girl started to scream stuff which nobody, not even Mychaell was able to understand.

"I was checking up on my mother, and I saw this piece of garbage pulling this woman inside the alleyway." Mychaell nodded towards mister Dixton. "Safe to say that he will wake up with a massive headache, and if the two of you didn't arrive here sooner, I doubted that he would have a working member." The police officer nodded, and narrowed his eyes.

"Do you know where she lives?" the officer who was a regular inside the apothecary. Mychaell wiggled with his head.

"Somewhere near the apothecary, I have seen her around there. I will figure it out once we are there." he said, the officer nodded and sighed.

"Alright, we leave her with you. But let Rycharde take a look at that cut in your arm, would you." The officer said. Mychaell nodded, and guided the still sobbing girl with him. He almost started to believe that she was this much in distress. Only for her to knock it off when they were at a safe distance.

"Good, job. Didn't know you had it in you. Now let's get our butts in gear, I rather keep it by just one performance." She said with a smirk. "The apothecary, is it also the headquarters of the Freedom Fighters?" he nodded, as they started to run. "Something's never change." It didn't take long before he closed the door behind him. She walked through the shop as if she owned the place, she grabbed one of the ointments off the selves. Before making her way to the back. "Take off that shirt, and sit down." She didn't even look for the first aid kit, she just grabbed it. He frowed, but still did as she said. She blinked a few times when she saw his body, but then went to work. Her whole body was shaking, but her hands were steady. He couldn't understand how that was even posible. Still she kept on stitching, she placed the ointment on the wound. And then took a deep breath of air, now her whole body started to shake.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, he reached for her with his other hand. But she jumped away from it. Which was strange, she jumped in his arms earlier this evening. What was wrong with her?

"I... I am..." she started, but she didn't even had the chance to say that she was fine. Before she closed her eyes, and almost dropped to the ground. He was glad that he was able to catch her before her head touched the concrete.

"You are fine, my ass." he said under his breath. He walked over to the cot that they keep inside the store. He lay her down and grabbed a chair. He glanced over her sleeping face, her blazing red hair covered the whole pillow. Her skin almost seemed to glow, she was stunning. He couldn't deny that, but he had seen how strong she was. How smart, that part of the stories was true. But her shaking like a leaf, was something Rycharde never mencaned before. He shook his head, there were parts of the story missing and he was going to sit here, waiting until he figured out why that was the case.