A figure walks up to the body lying on the floor, the expression on the body's face blank.
The figure bends down over the body and closes the eyelids shut saying "Requiescant in pace".
"It was over, the job finished, as I stood there victorious over my fallen enemy I felt nothing but sorrow for the lost of life."
Part Two: Chapter four: Forgiven.
Matt lifted his hand from over his bullet wound and saw that the blood on his hand was black. "The worst part of being a doctor turned soldier is I always know exactly how bad shit like this is, the bullet had hit my liver, the poor sod had taken so much booze and shit I'd be surprised if it hasn't already failed on me. There wasn't enough blood for a direct hit, I had time." Matt bent down and took a close look at Ivan's revolver noticing the engraving. "Union standard issue elitist penis extension, Ivan must have taken it off of the SeC after he killed him." Matt heard the elevator start moving, he flipped open his revolver and pushed the extractor half way and removed the empty shell and put it in his pocket and then grabbed Ivan's revolver and got behind cover.
"I never really liked the duel welding cliche, but that elevator was most likely filled with assholes ready to take a shot at me."
Matt pulled both of the hammers back and brought them in front of him trying to aim them anyway he could when the elevator reached the top.
"Easy there cowboy." James said holding his hands up.
The elevator was full of police officers who were now scowering the room looking for survivors. "Leave any for us?" James asked.
Matt fell to his knees in pain holding his bullet wound tight. "Just my luck, the bullet didn't pass through me and was stuck on a god damn fucking nerve." James reached down and got Matt up supporting him just now noticing the gun shot. "Shit! Get the medics!"
"Slowly like the ending of a cartoon the room started to fade away, was this death? I had been shot so many times I didn't know what the feeling was like anymore..."
"The nightmare was always the same."
Matt found himself standing in a large dark and foggy room. Slowly all around him shapes moved in the shadows.
"Something felt different... Its not something one describes in a shitty noir monologue.
Was this death? Was this the grand afterlife that everyone feared?"
The shapes in the shadows started to take the form of people approaching him. Matt looked down to see that the gunshot wound had followed him in to this place.
Slowly the figures started to be come clear. "I didn't feel fear any more, I was years past that, I had gone from a doctor in the suburbs of Houston to a soldier, a leader, I had done so many things during the occupation, so many terrible things.
I was never a praying man, but a passage came to mind that I think was about to match what was going to happen."
The figures came up to them, they stopped three feet from him a group of them surrounding him, Matt spun around still holding his wound.
One of the figures step out of the circle and slowly started to be come recognizable.
"I'm so proud of you.." A familiar voice said. The figure took the form of Caroline, Matt's wife.
Matt looked down in shame. Then he felt her warm hand on his cheek for the first time in many many years.
"There is nothing to be a shamed of." she said softly. Matt looked up at her and saw the two figures to her sides take the form of Thomas and Ali. Matt looked around and saw the figures of all those he had lost: His mother, His friends, all of them with a sort of sad smile on their face.
"I failed you, I failed all of you..." Matt said tearing up.
"You failed no one." she said smiling on her face. She brought her self in and hugged Matt and then took a step back. "I could have saved all of you... I..."
"You did save us." Thomas said.
"You made me sane again, you have me a reason to live." He continued.
"You gave me the best years of my life." Matt's wife said.
Matt's mother came up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I left you in that place.. Abandoned you..." Matt sobbed.
"You were busy living your life. No matter what happened to me that is what I wanted most of all, not you to be burdened by my mistakes..." She said. Matt looked back at his wife. "I should have been there with you..." Matt said to her.
"You were with me in spirit." she replied.
"Had you been there you would have died too, you did so many great things after my death."
Matt looked to Thomas.
"I died a good death, I died with no regrets and a free man."
"Its time to move on my love, we will always be with you, stop trying to make up for things that aren't your fault.
Live your life." Matt's wife finished.
Slowly, the world around Matt started to fade, everyone around Matt smiled as they faded away.
Matt woke up in a hospital bed in a gown. Matt looked to his side and saw Jacob there smiling.
"Welcome back to the world." He said.
Matt smiled and tried to get up only to have James put his hand on his chest. "Doctors say you need some rest Matt." He said.
Matt laid back down and caught sight of Eli entering the room from the hallway.
Eli seems to be wearing a pretty clean suit but other than that he doesn't seem to have changed much since the pass.* "Ah... I see 'sleeping beauty' just woke up." Matt chuckles and then grabs his side, clearly that hurt like a mother fucker. "Bastard.. Don't make me laugh..." "Fuck I hate getting shot..." he continued.
"Eli had been there for me during the pass and the war, a friend to the end."
"I don't think anyone likes it mate... Sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. Jo's been yelling at the doctors like a banshee. She's pretty worried." Eli says. "Why? Its not like I died or anything..." Matt chuckles again grabbing his side in pain. Jacob pipes up saying "Uh... You kinda did die..." The kid was a bit of a mood killer..."
Eli shook his head "For a few minutes, yep... I guess I'm not the only 'zombie' in the room now" He smiles at Matthew, gesturing at him "I heard what you did on the nexus... Again. You could have asked for my help you know." "You were off doing your shit, I needed to do it myself." Matt replied. "Matt, I was checking up on you once a month. Bloody hell... You know I'm not about to let a friend alone at a time like that." He seemed somewhat serious as he said that "... Still, I'm glad to see you got out alive."
The smiles fades from Matt's face and he looks over to James. "So what now?" he ask "I was about to ask you the same thing, The council is gone, they were either arrested or shot, and right now I'm the highest level government official... I have no idea whats the next step.." He replied. "Why don't you do it?" Jacob pipes up. "Do what?" Matt asked. "I think he's a bit too old for it" Eli quickly quips.
"Run for council I mean... Come on, who else would be better for it?" he continues. "... Kid's got a point, Matt." Eli replied. "Because I'm a wanted felon aren't I?" Matt said looking at James. he bows his head and curses under his breath "Hes right, there are outstanding warrants on him for murder, assault of police officers, and illegally concealing a firearm."
"Maybe I can help with that." Eli pulled out his Interpol identification from under his coat, showed it to James "I'm sure we can work something out, given Matt's assistance in the 7 hour war and the fact these men were... Well, more than corrupt, right?"
Matt looked at his injury and then back at Eli. "No. I am going to stand trial... If I am exonerated then I can run for office."
James looked at Matt with a surprised look on his face. "I could hold the election off till your trial, there's still uncorrupt Judges on the Justice council that we didn't arrest, they'd be seeing your hearing."
"Fair enough... Don't think a jury would convict you either way." He puts his ID back "I'll still have to stay and watch over the trial though... Officially I'm here to make sure whatever happened in the nexus is resolved and handled properly" Eli replied. James looked at Eli and nodded then looks back to Matt. "I'm placing you under house arrest pending your hearing. Now I have go talk to the judges about delaying this trial till you are recovered." "Wait, if I remember correctly, isn't community housing no longer available to him?" Jacob pipes up again.
"We'll stick him in a hotel room. It's better than nothing" Eli suggest.
James looked at Matt again, "I may be able to set him up with something, after you were in this city for what? Four days?"
As they kept talking about where to house Matt in the meantime, some rather loud footsteps can be heard outside, a woman's voice in the distance as well "I'm going to bloody check on him before YOU people get him brain dead!-" Finally Joanna walked in through the door, she seems to be wearing a cleaner outfit than when Matthew found her in her apartment. Joanna looked at him, seemingly frozen for a second but then she turned around, looking out to the hallway as she yelled "You idiots! He woke up while you wanked around!-" Her voice has a rather worrisome tone to it, though she's not directly showing it. "Oh.. Boy.. She was pissed..."
"Nice to see you too Jo'" Matt pipes up. She turned around, looking at him sternly before quickly stepping towards Matthew, pushing everyone off and giving him a tight hug, making sure she kept the good side of her face towards him. "... Don't fucking scare me like that again, you hear me Old man?" Matt painfully reached over and gave her a one armed hug. "Yeah, next time someones shooting at me I'll remember to blast his head off first. So how much of my liver did they have to remove?"
she pulled away from the hug slowly, brushing some hair off her face "Not sure, they haven't precisely given me much info at a- wait... How'd you know it was your liver?" She asked. "Jo' I was a Doctor before you were even born, I was bleeding black, that's dirty blood and only comes out when its been punctured." Matt replied.
She nodded, sighing for a moment, she looked at the rest realized Matt might be feeling a bit crowded. "Alright people... Maybe we should give him some time to rest. He was out for 3 weeks." Matt started coughing choking on his own breath "Three weeks!?!" He yelled.
"Beat my previous record by a week..."
Eli nodded. "Yep... you've been asleep for quite a while to say the least"
"I think its safe to say that he deserved it.." Jacob said quietly.
Joanna looked to Jacob. "I'm pretty sure no one wants to catch a nap because of a bullet"
"Jo' had totally missed what the kid meant, but I didn't I haven't had some R&R since I had two legs..."
"Either way, I know a guy who owes both me and Matt a favor, I'm sure I can hook him up some place nice while we wait for the trial." James quickly inputted.
Joanna raised an eyebrow as James mentioned a trial. "... What trial?" Jacob put his face in his hands and then gently tapped her on the shoulder, "Let's just let him rest..." As they left Joanna kept asking James and Eli "What Trial!?!?"
"It wasn't over yet, I still had a long way to go, but for now, I had some peace and quiet, and a very painful recovery till my trial."
Matt rested his head back and closed his eyes and got some sleep.