Euan
My heart didn’t beat for the whole duration of the three-minute clip on the BBC news flash, headlined ‘The house of the dead’, which exhibited Elsie strolling through Peter O’Keefe’s house, coolly executing every single person that dared to take a shot at her.
The final clip made my un-beating heart shrivel in desolation. I couldn’t move my stunned gaze from Elsie as she sat cross-legged on Peter’s desk.
“I am Elsie Grey. And I am the ultimate Weapon.”
“Well, you can definitely shut down your PC now. You don’t need any of that shit anymore,” Ebony stated, her voice sounding a little strangled.
“Why?” I wheezed, my voice as squeaky as hers. “Why the fuck would she do that?”
“Because she knows she’s dead anyway,” Tehni whispered. “That’s why she made sure every camera got various shots of her, and why she revealed her name. She gave Frank an out. He won’t be held accountable for Peter’s death now, and Three Blades can remain off the radar.”
“Is this what he wanted?” I spat with anger, the image of Elsie limping into Peter’s office, blood leaking from three separate holes around her body, haunting me. “Is this what that bastard asked of her! Jesus Christ!”
Ebony frowned at me. “This isn’t about Frank. He passed Elsie’s assignment over to Tehni and me. This is the last thing he wanted.”
The way she spoke of Frank, as though he was her idol and not the manipulative bastard I knew he was, really pissed me off. But every Weapon, Elsie included, was blind to who Frank truly was, and I knew I wouldn’t ever get them to see the reality of their existence.
Sighing, I looked at the TV again; the paused, close-up image of Elsie breaking my God damn heart. “I had the flights booked for two days’ time. She’ll never get out of the country now!”
Tehni screwed up her face with confusion. “What?”
“We were leaving, starting a new life together. My boss is already preparing her new documents. Even the flight is booked for tomorrow night.”
Ebony stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “For one, wherever she goes, Frank would find her. And, two, tomorrow night wouldn’t make a bleached eyes bit of difference, her termination is tonight.”
A shiver raced through my body when my blood ran cold. “But she told me that Frank had given her extra time!”
They both grimaced but looked at me with pity. “Elsie knows there’s no leaving Three Blades, Euan,” Tehni spoke softly as if consoling a child. “Although she lied to you, I can see why. She knew you’d drag her away before she got a chance to take Peter out if you knew how soon her termination was. But, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
Rage burned my chest, and I shook my head angrily, denying every ludicrous word. “Bullshit. There’s always hope. How can you sit there and allow this to happen? Elsie is your friend.”
Tehni stiffened, her anger with me displayed in the glare she had fixed on me. “You don’t understand, Euan. This is how it is. I’m as heartbroken as you. I love Elsie. But I also know how it goes. There’s nothing we can do!” she reiterated.
“I can’t listen to this utter crap you’re both spewing! You’re brainwashed. Why can’t you stand up for what you know is right? And don’t dare try telling me that executing someone just because they break a stupid rule and fall in love is ethical. He has manipulated every thought in your heads for years and years. Your loyalty to him is just because he has control of every fucking emotion in your body.”
Turning to Ebony, I endeavoured to make her see. “Tell me, Ebony, why you’ve hidden your love for Elsie from Frank?”
She blinked and turned away when fear at what she knew I was going to say gnawed at her.
“Because you know he will terminate you. And if that is acceptable, then why hide it? Why, if you believe everything he programmes into you, aren’t you calling for your own death? Huh?”
She reared back when I stepped up to her furiously.
“Come on, Ebony!” I spat. “WHY?”
She punched me, and I stumbled back. Even though I had expected it, the mean right hook still stunned me.
“Elsie would give her life for each of you, yet you step back when she needs you. You, her friends.” I stabbed my finger at the TV. “Look at her. She needs help. She’ll have lost too much blood. We at least need to find her!”
“It won’t make a bit of difference, Euan. If Elsie doesn’t want to be found then, believe me, she won’t be,” Ebony asserted. “I hate this as much as you do, but Elsie isn’t going to die from the bullets she took, she’s going to die by Frank’s hand.”
I turned away. It was hopeless, my argument falling on the ears of Frank’s puppets.
This was all my fault, and blaming them eased the guilt I felt in every fibre of me. Elsie had warned me; she had told me that falling in love would be the death of her. I had just brushed it away as crazy, as a stupid rule Frank scared them all with to keep them loyal to only him.
How fucking wrong I had been.
Well, I wasn’t a Weapon. Frank's conditioning didn't constrain my mind. And I’d be damned if I sat back while the woman I loved gave her heartbeat to another man.
She told me that I was the home for her tortured soul. If that was the case, then I was keeping her soul locked up tight. It wasn’t allowed to leave the house. While it was in my possession, it was up to me to keep it safe.
And I’d be damned if I was going to beg Elsie’s friends for help. I didn’t need them. I had some of my own.