War

"I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight"                               - George S. Patton

• Adriana •

We positioned ourselves. Waiting
All I could hear around me was breathing, everyone was anxious
We were gunning for the fight and yet the thought of Esmeralda in there with Jimmy was nerve wracking

Before she agreed to come, it was going to be Bonnie
But she wanted to do it. She thought it was her place to.
So I waited. With my finger on the trigger and my eyes trained on any movement that came.

• Adriana's Outfit •

• Esmeralda •

"You know who I am" I stated. I tried to sit strong, to sound strong
To appear like I knew what I was doing
I wasn't soft. But I also wasn't used to dealing with people face to face the way dad does... did.

"I make it my business to know everyone who has it out for my head" he said
"I don't want you dead Mr McCavern. I just want answers" she said
"Answers? For what?" He chuckled

"Why my father is dead" I clarified casually
"Your da is dead because he was a silly cunt that got mixed up with the Blinders, the Chinese, the IRA" he said

"And you" I said
He tilted his head
"You're a pretty thing" he said
And I could just tell James was mad
"You are married no?" I asked

"Yeah, my point is Miss Gold, that you wouldn't want to ruin that pretty face by asking questions that'll land you in trouble" he said
"James. Go and get the present" I said over my shoulder
"Present?" He asked, laughing as he looked behind him to the man with him

"What present?" He asked
"We brought you a peace offering. We bare no ill will Jimmy. The life is the life. You did what you had to and no one got hurt in the end did they? It was the IRA that took my dad" I explained

"James" I said again
"Do you have anyone that can help him?" I asked
"Harry, go with him, make sure it's not a fucking bomb eh" he laughed
One of his men left with James
And so we had to act

Because James was the signal.

So I stood up, flipping the table into Jimmy as Connor stood too, dodging a bullet from Jimmy's other man as he pulled his knife out and threw it at him
He managed to conceal at least one

Whereas I pinned the table onto Jimmy
Before Connor took the gun from the dead man and pointed it at him
He rose his arms slowly

"You think you're leaving here after that?" He asked
"You come in here with two men and a knife and you think you'll leave?!" He shouted, laughing
"Who said I only brought two men?" I asked, feigning ignorance as I tilted my head at him.

• Adriana •

James walked out of the tent
And we began to fire
I don't know who shot the man that walked out with him, but I shot for the men I saw by their truck. Unloading boxes

They all scrambled out at the sound of gunfire
Like ants fleeing a dying ship
But they weren't fleeing

They were fighting
They just weren't prepared to be surrounded, to have gunfire from every direction
There was no where to hide
And then we closed in, closer into their camp
It was mostly men. Men and a few women dying in the name of McCavern

All the families and children would be back in Scotland
My gun ran out, and so I pulled my knife and my hand gun out.

Shooting. Stabbing. Covered in blood like... like the old days.
And I felt nothing. No remorse and no terror as I slashed a man's neck.

• Bonnie •

I rushed the camp beside Kalei and Jack
As they shot bullet after bullet, pulling guns I didn't even know they had out
They were professionals
Or at least passionate

Dad was right about the Fury's. They didn't take disrespect lightly
And Rom proved that more than any other Fury as he ran around covered in blood, smiling like a mad man with a long knife in hand

I heard a shot beside me, as Kalei hit the floor, getting right back up, shoulder bleeding but not slowing him
"Kalei-"
"I'm fine" he brushed off, running off

I made my way to the tent to help Esmeralda

• Adriana •

I rushed around trying to help everyone else
Everyone was mostly dead now
I had only seen three of ours that hadn't made it, lying in the grass
"Ari!"

I turned to see a man coming towards me, at Luke's warning.
I punched him in the face, as he slashed my arm on his way around
Before he turned back to me, and Luke tackled him, before they began to fight on the floor

I tried to pull the man off Luke, but he drove his knife into Luke's chest before I could
And then a shot echoed in my ears
And the man dropped sideways

Jack stood holding his gun, saving Luke
I fell beside him, checking him over
The knife was in deep. And his chest was heaving, bleeding badly

"Get Carlisle, he needs to go back now" I said worriedly
"Ari-"
I hushed him, sitting with him and waiting for someone to come and help us.

• Bonnie •

"Nice to see you again Jimmy" I said, entering the tent.
Esmeralda had a gun pointed at him. As he lay on the floor
Connor had left her alone
And James wasn't back either.

"A lot of gunfire out there, how many still alive?" He asked
"Quite a lot. Of our men at least" I shrugged
"Yours... I think your home camp will be very worried when they don't hear from you" I said casually

"You can't kill me lad. Kill me and you'll have an entire country after you" he said confidently, slowly moving his arms
"Don't move" Alda warned.

"You don't scare me darling" he scoffed
She cocked her gun
"I should. Because I'm the one taking you out of this world. As the first born of Aberama Gold, you will pay for his life with yours" she explained

"I didn't cause his death, I didn't even get the pleasure of killing the bastard" he said
"No. But you are a part to blame in his death, so... any last words?" She asked

"Just a few. You're all fucking idiots if you think kil-"
She pulled the trigger. And shot Jimmy McCavern dead, in the forehead
"You were right, he really did deserve it, annoying cunt" she spat at him.

"Are you alright?" I checked
She nodded
"It's what dad wanted" she said
I nodded back to her, as we made our way back outside
"Yeah, it is"

I moved to go out of the tent
"No. Prop him up, cut him" she ordered one of the boys.
She wanted him left for the rest of them to find
She wanted him degraded.

The gunfire and screaming had stopped.
All of the Billy boys were dead
And so was a few of ours. Lives lost for us.
Lives I would be forever grateful to.

Kalei stood holding his shoulder in pain, as adrenaline certainly wore off.
I looked around the field
No Carlisle, no Luke. No Adriana
"Where's everyone else?" I asked

"They rushed Luke back" Rom said
"Luke? Why?" I asked
"They got him pretty bad Bon. Adriana went back with them to stop the bleeding-" Jack explained as I rushed past them, leaving them

Bleeding...
"Get in the trucks" I said
"Bonn-"
"Get everyone in the fucking trucks!" I shouted, running back through the woods.
Luke...

• Adriana •

"So?" I asked Lorina and the other ladies
"He'll be alright, I've managed to pull the bullet out at least" Lorina said, showing it to me in a dish.

"Where is he?" Adelaide burst in panicked
"Hey, he's fine, he's fine" I said, grabbing her, trying to calm her down
"He's fine, he's just asleep" I said
She rushed over to him, taking his hand in hers as she dropped her head into his bedside, crying.

"And the rest of them?" Estella asked in a hushed voice
I shrugged
"I think they're alright" was all I could offer.

• Bonnie •

I ran off the truck platform, into the medical tent
But I didn't see him
He'd be in here if he was being treated
If he was... alive.

"Bonnie?" Grandma said warily
"Where is he? Where's Luke?" I asked impatiently
"Bonnie" Adriana said in relief, hugging me as she saw me.

"Where's Luke?" I stressed
"In his vardo, he's resting" she said
I took a breath
He's alive, he's okay.

"Why? Are you concerned?" she asked
"Of course I am, he's my brother" I said

"Then go and see him" she said
"Ari-"
"No. You love him. He's your best friend, the brother you never had. He... he's a good guy" she said

"And so are you" she said, holding my face in her dainty hands
"So go and talk to him. And tell him how much you worried" she said

I sighed, leaving for Luke's vardo.
And when I knocked... Adelaide answered

She left the door open, ushering me in quickly
"Bonnie" Luke smiled, lying weak and frail
"Luke" I said, watching him struggle to sit up.

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