Chapter 245

She awoke the next morning with the determination in mind that she was going to get to the bottom of her suspicion.  She just had to know if Brie Draiman was related to Irian Cartwright.  She gathered her courage as she walked into the Kitchen for breakfast.  “Mrs. Draiman, may I speak to you in private?” Karyn asked.

“Sure sweetie.”  Brie set David’s plate in front of him and walked out of the room with the young woman.

“Mrs. Draiman, I have a very odd question for you.  I’m going to ask you to keep an open mind about it.  Can you do that?”

Brie gave the girl an odd look.  “Of course hon.”

“In my Oral Com class we covered a woman named Irian Cartwright.  I noticed that you look an awful lot like her.  Are you related to her somehow?”

Brie fought not to laugh.  “No, honey, I'm not related to her; I AM her.  I used to be known as Irian Cartwright in another lifetime.  When the Establishment tried to assassinate me, I had to go into hiding; but not before they blew up my house after they had spotted me inside.  David saved my life and the Agency saw fit to reward him with marrying us.”

“Did you two ever actually get married?”

“Yes”, Brie lied to the girl easily.  “Before we went and picked Malachai up from my parent’s house, we went to Vegas.  It was quick and simple and not too much hassle.”

“That’s pretty cool.  How hard was it to fall in love with David Draiman?”

“It wasn’t, to be honest.  When he’s not stressed beyond reason, he’s one of the funniest guys you’ll ever meet.  Hell, they all are.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

Brie nodded.  “It is.  Now, I have a question for you.”

“Ok, shoot.”

“Were you one of our gophers before the quads were born?  At the first safe house in Grand Junction?”

“To be perfectly honest with you, Mrs. Draiman, I don’t really remember.  I was in a really bad car accident several years ago and since then I’ve been having trouble with my long term memory.”

Brie nodded.  “I understand.  I’m surprised that you remember Morbus though.”

“He and I were childhood sweethearts.  I could never forget him.  And I always listened to Disturbed, that’s how I remembered the band.  Other than that, my long term memory is Swiss cheese.”

“That’s understandable.  So, why did you agree to be our surrogate?”

“I had a good feeling about you and David, and I know that I can trust Morbus’s judgment”, Karyn said with a smile.

Brie couldn’t help but smile back.  “Well, on behalf of myself and David, I want to thank you.  You have no idea how much this means to the both of us.”

--------------

Matt and Jenn finally didn’t have to hide anymore.  Matt couldn’t have been happier.  He’s been asked to be his aunt’s personal bodyguard when she took office, but he didn’t care.  He finally got to be with his saving grace.  The only woman on the planet that kept him from being a total monster was finally his full time.  He didn’t have to sneak around and hide with her anymore.  He even made it a point to take her to the house and introduce her to his little sister and his brother in law.

As usual, he didn’t knock.  He just walked in the door.  “Hello everyone!” he exclaimed.

Brie laughed.  “Wow, you’re in a good mood, Matt.  What’s got you so freaking cheery?”

He held his hand out toward the open door and in walked a beautiful blond woman in a sundress that hit her mid thigh.  “Everyone, this is Jennifer Jessop.  She’s my girlfriend.  Well, for the moment she’s my girlfriend.”

She smiled brightly at everyone.  “Hello.”

Brie stood up and looked the woman over for a few moments.  “So, YOU’RE the woman who’s been putting a shit eating grin on my big brother’s face the last few times he’s been here.”

Jenn laughed.  “That would be me.  And I take it you’re the brilliant little sister he’s spoken so much about.”

Brie laughed.  “That would be me.”  She extended her hand.  “I’m Brie Draiman, Matt’s little sister.”

Jenn took Brie’s hand and shook it.  “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”  She looked around the room at all the boxes.  “I see you guys are packing.  Is everyone ready to get the hell out of hiding?”

“Hell yes we are!” Nicole said.  “I know I can speak for everyone in the room when I say that I’m glad that the War is FINALLY over.  We’ve all been getting a very bad case of cabin fever.”

“Oh, I can certainly imagine.”

“So”, Brie asked Jenn, “how is it that you met my brother?”

“He actually trained me with the Ghost Squad.”

“So, you’re one of Matt’s Ghosts?” David asked to clarify.

“That’s right.  I was top in the class and assigned to assassinate both the Major and the Lieutenant.”

“So, which killed the lieutenant, the stab wound or the five story fall?” John asked.

“To be honest, I like to think it was the combination that killed him.”

“How did you manage to get close enough to slip the knife under his sternum?” Brie asked.

“He wanted to get freaky, so I let him long enough to get in close and stab him.  It was pretty simple, to be perfectly honest.”

Brie and David laughed out loud.  “That’s classic!” David said as he laughed.  “Let the bastard THINK he’s 

getting lucky then stick a knife in his chest!  I fucking love it!”

---------------

Malachai and Jacob were helping James and Jeremiah pack up their room.  “’Chai, are we moving to another save house?” James asked.

“No, James.  We’re going home.  Mama and Daddy are taking us home as soon as Great-aunt Gail says they can take us home.”

“Where is home?” Jeremiah asked as he looked at Jacob.

He shrugged.  “I don’t know, ‘Miah.  I wasn’t even born when the war started.”

“’Chai, where is home?” Jeremiah asked.

“A town called Colorado Springs.  Daddy bought the house before the war started before he and Mama got 

married.”

“That’s cool!” Jeremiah said.  He threw a bunch of blocks into the bucket they came in.  “I can’t WAIT to get home.  I hope I have my own room!”

Malachai laughed.  “We’ll see, ‘Miah.  You could always ask Mama and Daddy about that.”

“I’ll do that when we finally move out of here.”

Chapter 244

That night as they lay in bed, David noticed that Brie seemed troubled.  "Honey, what's the problem?"

She huffed.  "She seems familiar.  I can't place from where, though."

“Who are you talking about?”

“Karyn, that’s who.  I know we know here from somewhere, I just can’t place where.”

He closed his eyes and thought about it when it suddenly dawned on him.  “Remember that night before the first rally when Malachai ran around the house with your old camera?”

“Yeah, we had a big party and invited all of the gophers.”

“Did we ever print out any of those pictures?”

“We may have.  What does that have to do with anything?”

“I think she may have been there.  I wanted to look at the old pictures to see if I’m right.”

“Are you thinking that she’s one of the old gophers?”

“That’s exactly my thought.”

She slipped out of bed and looked under the bed for a small box that had a bunch of old pictures inside.  Once she put her hands on it, she pulled it out and slipped back into bed.  “Here that old picture box.”

He pulled the top off the box and took out a handful and started looking  through the pictures.  “She’s got to be in here somewhere.”

She reached out and took a handful of photos herself.  She checked each of them carefully looking for the young red head that knocked on their door earlier that day.  She has to be in here, she thought as she looked.  I know that girl from somewhere.  I know it.  I can feel it.

“GOT IT!” David said, holding the picture out to his wife.

She took the photo from his hand and studied it closely.  There she stood by the front door, Rex’s arms wrapped around her.  You could see how in love they were.  “Holy shit.  Amazing.”

“We’ve found her.  I wonder if she remembers being one of our gophers and that’s why she jumped at the chance to be our surrogate”, David pointed out as he picked up the pictures and put them back in the box before shoving the box back under the bed.

Brie settled back into the bed after putting the picture on her bedside .  “I don’t know, honey.  The only way to know for sure is to ask her.”

He settled back into the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms.  “Well, one thing’s for certain, if she’s does remember, then she’s doing us a huge favor based on the ideals she had of us all those years ago.”

--------------

“Are you saying that you don’t remember working for the band as their gopher for four years?” Morbus asked Karyn that night as they got ready for bed.  The band was more than happy to have her stay with them.

“I don’t remember a lot from that time in my life, Morbus.  The last thing I remember was a concert.”

“You don’t remember me going to the old safe house to warn them that the Utopians had found them?”

She shook her head.  “No.  But, Morbus, something about Mrs. Draiman keeps bothering me.”

“What’s that, ‘Ryn?”

“In Oral Com class, we covered a woman named Irian Cartwright.  Mrs. Draiman looks an AWFUL lot like her.  She actually inspired me to follow my passion to be a Lit Major instead of following what my parent wanted me to do.”

He shrugged as he wrapped an arm around her.  “I don’t know, my dear.  She may very well be the woman you’re speaking of.”

“But, that’s not possible, Morbus”, she said as she snuggled into the bed at his side.  “Irian Cartwright was declared dead after a house explosion at the beginning of the war.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, love.”

Chapter 243

Morbus and David walked to the living room via the kitchen.  When Morbus saw the young woman sitting on the couch talking with Brie and Nicole, he froze.  David turned when he felt that Morbus was no longer behind him.  “Is everything ok, Morbus?” he asked.

“I swear to God I just saw a ghost, David.”

“Who?”

“My old girlfriend Karyn.  I haven’t seen her since before the explosion.”

“Holy hell, Morbus, I’m sorry.  I didn’t know that.  If I had, I wouldn’t have let her in.”

“It’s okay, David.  I’ll go see what she wants.”  He took a deep breath to steady himself, then walked into the living room.   He looked at Karyn, the only thing on his face that was obvious were his eyes.  Everything else was covered by the hood he wore.  “Hello Karyn.”

“Rex.  Oh, my God, honey, what happened to you?”

“Explosion ruined my face and eyes.  You don’t want to see the mess the Utopians left me face, Karyn.”

“Rex, I loved you before the scarring.  Why wouldn’t I love you now?”

“Karyn, that explosion made me a monster.  My training has made me even more so.  How can you love a monster?”

“Let me be the judge of that.”  She stood and gave him a defiant look.

His eyes went from cold to concerned.  “Are you sure about that, Karyn?”

“Yes.  Let me see for myself if I think you’re a monster.”

He swallowed hard, then his hands came up to pull the hood that covered his face back.  “Please, if there is a God up there, don’t let her freak out.  She’s the only girl I’ve ever loved.  Please let her be accepting of what I am now”, he thought as he uncovered his face.  His eyes locked on hers, anticipating her reaction.

She watch calmly as the hood came back.  Once it was down and resting on his shoulders, she took every inch of his face in.  “It’s not that bad.  It would take a little getting used to, but, Rex; I never cared what you looked like.  I don’t care now.  I love the person you are inside.”

“Karyn, I’m not that same person anymore.  I’ve done things you don’t even want to think about.  I’ve watched the people in this ROOM do things you don’t want to think about.”

“Like what, Rex?”

“I watched Brie Draiman blow her own cousin’s head off and not flinch from the thought of it.  What made her lose her lunch was the fact that she was covered in the Utopian bitch’s brain matter.”

Karyn looked at Brie.  “You did that?”  Brie just nodded and went on with her packing.

“Hmm… interesting.  What else, Rex?  Give me something YOU’VE done.”

“I blew up a Utopian Extermination Squad with an RPG rocket launcher.  Before the last safe house move, I slit the throats of two Utopian soldiers that blew the other to shit with a sawed off shot gun.”

“They were all Utopians and therefore deserved it.”

Morbus looked at her in shock.  “You really don’t care, do you?”

Karyn shook her head.  “No, Rex, I don’t care.  Because, at the end of the day, you’re still the sweet, funny, quirky guy I fell in love with.”

As if by sheer reflex, Morbus’s hand reached out and caressed her cheek gently.  “I’ve missed you so much, Karyn.”

She smiled softly, trapping his hand against her cheek with her own hand.  “And I’ve missed you, Rex.”

Every other couple in the room watched with a smile.  Brie had an arm wrapped around David’s waist.  “It’s nice to see him happy, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yeah, it is.  He’s overdue”, David said.

Dan and Nicole, Mike and Tina, John and Kristen; they all shared the same sentiment.

--------------

They took a break from their packing and sat and got to know Karyn better.  She and Morbus had been together since high school and she was a World Lit major in College.  “I love literature.  I always have.”

Brie and David had been sitting and practically staring at her in between whispering sessions.  Finally, Brie rolled her eyes and blurted out, “Karyn, I know we hardly know you, but I have a question for you.”

She smiled.  “Ok.  What is the question?”

“David and I want to have two more children, but I can’t carry children anymore.  I’ve already gone through menopause, which sucks by the way, and before that I had a bad miscarriage.  Anyway,  to cut to the case, David and I were both wondering if you would be so kind as to be a surrogate for us?”

Karyn blinked at them.  “Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?  Tell me you’re NOT joking please.”

David smiled at the girl.  “We’re not joking.”

Everything in her wanted to automatically say yes, but she wanted to clarify something first.  “I don’t have to sleep with David, do I?”

David laughed.  “My wife would kill BOTH of us if that were to happen.  I love my wife and I like breathing.  No, Karyn, you wouldn’t have to sleep with me.  And, we’ll tell you the same thing we the last surrogate.  We’ll take care of the medical bills and if you need a place to stay, you and Morbus can stay in the guest house at our house after we get moved the hell out of here.”

She didn’t know what to say.  She was shocked to say the least.  “Let me just be clear.  You two aren’t kidding?”

“No, we’re not kidding”, Brie laughed.

She looked at Morbus.  “What do you think?”

“I think that if you WERE to do something like this for a couple, you couldn’t pick two better people.  David and Brie are two of the nicest people I know.  I can count all the genuine souls I know on both hands and they’re all sitting in this room.”

She smiled at him, then looked at David and Brie.  “Yes, I’ll be your surrogate.”

Chapter 242

Finally after a night of celebration, everyone called it a night.  David and Brie were the first ones to call it a night.  They wanted to celebrate privately and they did exactly that all night LONG!  When the sun came up the next morning, they were still celebrating.  When the sun first peaked over the horizon, they were lying in bed holding each other in silence.  David was the first to speak.  “What are you thinking?”

“That I can’t believe that it’s finally over.  As soon as my aunt gives us the go ahead, we can move into our OWN house again.  We can finally get married and not have to worry about the Utopians trampling all over it and hauling you off to prison.  It’s over.”

He smiled and gave her a gentle squeeze.  “Yes, it’s finally over and none too soon.  I’ve been waiting for this shit to end.  Kinda sad that I had to do it myself though, don’t you think?”

She laughed.  “Yeah, that’s true, but sometimes that’s life.  You gotta take matters into your own hands sometimes.”

“How is it that you always know the right thing to say?”

She shrugged.  “It’s a gift, I guess.”

He tilted her face up to his to place a soft kiss on her lips.  “Well, it’s a great gift to have.  It’s good to know that you have a talent with words.”

“I have a talent with words?  Listen to you.  I don’t use big words like ‘Avarice’ or anything like that.”

“So, I have a big vocabulary.  I don’t have talent for saying what needs to be said when it needs saying.”

“Actually, my love, you do.  You know what to say to me when I need it.”

That made him smile.  “Thank you for that.  That made me smile.”

“That was the point, honey.”

“I love you, Brie.  I hope you know that.”

“David, I DO know.  And I love you too.”

 --------------

As Brie and David got up in the morning for breakfast, David’s phone rang.  “Hello?” he said when he answered it.

“Good Morning, David.  How are you this morning?” asked the Director.

“Not bad.  Haven’t gotten my coffee for the morning, but I’m awake and alert.  What did you need this morning, Director?”

“Just calling to let you guys know to start packing your shit.  You can all go home now.”

David’s jaw dropped.  “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, sir.  You guys can all go to your OWN homes to stay and not have to worry about Utopians beating down your door or taking shots at you.”

“Could you stay on the phone and let the guys hear that with their own ears?  They’ll never believe me.”

“No problem.  Get down the stairs and let me tell them myself.”

David grabbed Brie’s hand and drug her down the stairs so that the guys could hear what the Director was saying.  “Guys, I have the Director on the phone.  She wants to tell you all something”, he said as he walked into the room and put the phone speaker.  “Go ahead, Director.”

“Boys, start packing your shit and get ready to home.  John, Mike, Dan, your homes are being rebuilt as we speak.  David, your house in Colorado Springs is still standing and is having rooms added on to it to accommodate a family of twelve.”

“But, we’re a family of ten, Director.”

“Aren’t you and my niece thinking about two more?”

“That we are.”

“You’ll need the extra rooms then, won’t you?”

He chuckled.  “I guess so.”

“Hold the hell on!” Mike said.  “We can start packing our shit to go home?  Are you serious, Director?”

“Yes, Mike.  And, just a warning, soon you will be calling me Madame President.  I’ll be serving temporarily as president until we get the Democracy reestablished.”

“THAT is good news.  We’re going back to our old system of government and we’ll have someone who’s competent in office.  It’s great!” Dan said.

“Well, the first suggestion was David, but Matt told me what he said about leading the country.  So, I volunteered for it.”

“Well, I don’t want to lead the nation even a little bit.  I just want to live my life.”

“And I completely understand that.  That’s why I’m doing it.”  She chuckled.  “Ok, well, to recap, you guys can start packing your shit, houses are being rebuilt and remodeled.  I’ll let you know when you can leave for your homes.”

“Thank you, Director.  That’s fantastic news”, David said with a smile.

“No problem.  I’m happy to get the stars of the Resistance out of hiding finally.”

--------------

Each of the adults told their children.  The kids all jumped for joy, then ran to their rooms to start packing their stuff.  The adults decided to take the house one room at a time, starting with the living room.  They sorted the movies that they each brought with them and divided up the movies that they’d bought over the time they were in hiding. They were all happy to finally be able to pack their stuff to go to their perspective homes.

As they packed, there was a knock on the door.  David walked over to the door and answered it.  “Hello?” he said at to the young woman on the other side of the door.

“Hello, I’m looking Rex.  You guys call him Morbus now.”

David called over his shoulder.  “Has anyone seen Morbus?”

“He’s out back in this tool shed packing his shit out there.  You know how he is about his guns, David”, John said.

“Thanks John.”  David turned back to the door.  “Come on in, dear.  I’ll go get Morbus for you.”  He headed outside to the tool shed.  “Morbus”, he called.

“Yeah, David?” he said, poking his head out the door of the shed.

“There’s a young woman inside looking for you.”

“For ME?  Are you sure?”

“They called you Rex when you were our chief gopher, right?”

“Right.”

“Then, yes, I’m sure.  She said she’s looking for Rex then added that we call you Morbus.”

Morbus put the rifle in his hand in its case.  “Alright.  Let’s go see who this mystery girl is.”

Chapter 241

The guys, Kristen, Brie, Malachai and Morbus all came into the house hooting and howling.  “I can’t believe it’s FINALLY over!” Kristen shouted as she took off her protective gear.

“Me neither”, Brie said with a laugh.  “Oh, my GOD!  I can go out in public again!  I can go buy fucking DOUGHNUTS again!”

David wrapped his arms around Brie’s waist from behind.  “We can start looking for another surrogate now”, he whispered in her ear.

She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.  “We can start planning the wedding now”, she whispered against his lips.

“Are you serious?  You want to start planning the wedding?”

“You don’t?”

“Are you kidding me?  Of course I do.  I want you to legally be my wife.  No more of this falsified paperwork shit.”

“Aren’t you going to go about it the RIGHT way, David?” she teased.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, and then dropped to one knee.  “Brie, marry me.”

She laughed.  “Stand up, you big goof!”  She playfully swatted at his chest with her left hand.  “Give me that fucking ring.”

He held her hand against his chest for a brief moment, then slipped the ring on her finger.  “You know, we could just pass this off as we’re renewing our vows.”

“We can do that, but I still want a big ceremony.”

He chuckled.  “Whatever you want, baby.  It can be as big or as small as you want it to be.”

Dan and Mike came back into the room with Nicole, Tina and the rest of the kids.  “What are you two all smiles for?” Dan asked.

“We’re renewing our vows, boys”, Brie said with a smile.

Nicole and Tina flocked around Brie, pulling her away from David.  “What are you plans for the ceremony?” they asked.

“Ladies, we haven’t started planning anything yet.  When I start planning things, I’ll let you know.  Now, I’m going to go see my kids.”

--------------

Malachai and the other boys were regaling Justin with their tales of how many Utopians they shot during the battle.  “I’ve got 40 kills to my count”, Malachai said.

“That’s awesome!  I wish I could have been out there with you guys.  I wanted to kill Utopians too.”

“Take that up with Master Guns”, Logan said.  “You were there when he passed out the orders.”

“I know.  He thought it was more important for me to protect the younger kids and my mom and Aunt Tina.”  He sighed and then looked at Malachai, turning the conversation from the battle to the something else.  “So, Malachai, your Mom and Dad are renewing their marriage vows?  Isn’t that exciting?”

Malachai smiled.  “It’s awesome!  I actually get to be present for this wedding.”

“You weren’t at the first one?”

“Nope.  They went to Vegas.”

“And you stayed WHERE?” Simon asked.

“With my grandparents.”

--------------

Matt walked into the house with a HUGE smile on his face.  “I JUST got word that any Utopian left is Washington has officially committed suicide.  The War is officially over, boys.  I’m talking to the Director about you boys going home.”

David and Brie paid no attention until he said “going home”.  Brie smiled.  “I wonder if our old place in the Springs is still standing”, she said to David.

“Me too.  I’ve been wanting to show the twins the house they were conceived in.”

“Like they’d understand what that means, David.”

“What are you two up to now?” Matt asked.

“We’re sitting here discussing our vow renewal ceremony”, Brie said beaming.

“That’s great.  Do you have someone to walk you down the isle?”

“Actually, big brother, I was hoping you would take that honor.”

“Of fucking course I will!  I didn’t get to be involved in your first wedding.”

David leaned in and whispered in Brie’s ear.  “Little does he know, there never WAS a first wedding.  This IS the wedding.”

 She giggled.  “I know, but let’s not spoil the story for everyone.  The only people other than the two of us that know are Mike, John , and Dan.  Let’s keep it that way.”

Chapter 240

The men were all in place as they waited to spot the enemy coming over the hill.  The first Utopian spotted would die.  There was no way in the planet that they would survive this day.  It was time for the Utopian movement to end.

Morbus was on the front line with “The Sickness”.  He’d made it a point to be with that unit.  “I’ll be DAMNED if they’re going to use MY name and I’m NOT with them, David”, he’d said.  “I will be there on the front line with them with BELLS ON.”  And so he was.

David, Dan, Mike, John, Kristen and Brie had taken sniper positions on top of the building and were surrounded by the rest of Matt’s Ghost Squad, who had token positions on top of the surrounding buildings.   The rest of the Army had taken to hiding for the ambush.

The Utopians crested the hill and Matt flashed David the signal.  David fired the first shot of the final battle of the war.  He sighted down his scope, aiming for one of the men he KNEW was an officer, then fired.  Then man fell out of the Humvee he was riding in and hit the ground dead.  The snipers then took turns picking off Utopians.  They staggered their shots so that the Utopians wouldn’t be able to pin point any one shooter.   

They watched the Utopians all fall to the ground with holes in their heads.

Still, the Utopians marched.  They tried to fire back, but they kept hitting the buildings instead of people.  Finally they made it to the center of the buildings and faced the address given on the disk.  “David Michael Draiman, you are hereby under arrest for War Crimes against the Utopian state.  Come with us willingly and we’ll show you some mercy.  Fight us, and you will be sure to die the most horrific death we can imagine”, called one of the Utopian Commanders over a bull horn.

David laughed and picked up a bull horn of his own.  “Come find me, mother fuckers!” he shouted into the bull horn.   Then, as if that were the signal, the Resistance flooded out of their hiding spots and started firing.  The Utopian soldiers started dropping like flies.   They didn’t have a chance in hell.  They should have known.  David was the voice of the Resistance.  He’d have the entirety of the Resistance Army at his beck and call.

Morbus ran out shooting with sadistic glee.  He’d been waiting for this day for a long time.  Finally, he was getting revenge for the bastards taking away his future.  He’d had a very bright future ahead of him.  He was in college, he had a beautiful girlfriend that loved him with everything she had.  They were going to be married.  Then the Utopian scum blew up the original safe house and ruined him for life.  He’d die a hideous beast.  He was used to the way he looked now, but nonetheless, the Utopians had to pay.

Malachai was picking off the Utopians one by one.  He was enjoying himself, too.  The Utopians had this coming.  He and his mom were happy.  They had a nice house, he was in a good school with a lot of friends.  Friends who, he was sure, were either adopted by Utopian leaders or dead because their families listened to what his mother had to say.  True, if it weren’t for the Utopians having tried to kill his mother, he wouldn’t have his Dad or his younger siblings, but still the War had to end.  And he was going to make sure that it did.

David and Brie covered each other as they reloaded their guns, each firing a round them turning for cover to reload as the other aimed and fired.  At one point, Brie let out a joyous laugh.  “This is FUN!  Fuck these Utopian bastards!”  She spun back around to fire another shot.

David laughed.  “You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you?” he asked as he reloaded his rifle.

“Fuck yeah!” she said as she spun back around for cover.

David spun out to fire as she reloaded.  “After this is over, we’ve having victory sex, just so you know”, he said as she sighted down his scope.

She laughed as she chambered the round when he fired.  “YES!  VICTORY SEX!  I’VE BEEN WAITING EIGHT YEARS FOR VICTORY SEX!”  When he turned back to their cover spot she spun out to take her 

aim.

“GOOD, DAMN IT!  SO HAVE I!” he laughed as reloaded his rifle.  He watched her as she took her aim and fired.  She handled her rifle like a pro.  It was one of the many things that endeared her to him.  He just hoped that neither of them would ever have to do so again after today.

--------------

The Utopians were dropping left and right.  They had no chance.  All of the commanders were dead, leaving only the soldiers to be picked off one by one.  Many tried to surrender only to be shot in the head by the nearest Utopian soldier.

Finally, there was silence in the small clearing where to Resistance made their last stand.  David stood from where he was poised and ready to shoot, using the scope of his rifle as a monocle to see if there were any Utopian uniforms still standing.  He relaxed and brought the rifle down from his shoulder.  Brie, without any signal whatsoever, handed him the bull horn.  “IT’S OVER LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!  THE BATTLE IS OURS!”  There were cries of celebration.  Hooah’s, Oorah’s, and Huzzah’s sounding all over the battle ground.  David smiled a satisfied smile, then brought the bull horn back up to his mouth.  “GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE AND GO GET DRUNK!  YOU’VE ALL EARNED IT!  GO FUCKING CELEBRATE!  I FULLY INTEND TO DO JUST THAT!”  The cries of the soldiers grew louder.

Several of the men started chanting, “WE ARE DISTURBED!”

David laughed.  “SCREAM IT WITH ME!  WE ARE…”

The men responded, “DISTURBED!”

“WE ARE…”

“DISTURBED!”

“WE ALL ARE…”

“DISTURBED!!!”  And with that, the men and women of the Resistance took their leave.