Page 75 of Uprising

“I love you Lara.” I say after her.

She turns giving me what feels like a genuine smile. “I love you too Daddy.”

God, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing those words. Of seeing her face.

“You ready?” Koen says.

I get to my feet, dusting off the remainders of cake crumbs from my jeans. Yeah I’m ready. I’ve been ready for this one from the moment Koen showed me the place on the camera.

* * *

When we getto the new barn it’s even bigger than I realised. My stomach physically turns as I take it in. Christ how many people have been brought here? How many people have they murdered here?

Of course this place still has power. Darius has made sure his precious little money maker isn’t affected.

I glance at Koen, as all his men and women. Yeah he’s surprising forward thinking when it comes to this war. Or perhaps it’s just we need all the help we can get.

Ben is back at the base. He’s still fucked from the accident, though he’s doing his best to hide it, he fucked his back up pretty bad getting me out. It’s another thing I owe him for.

God, that list is getting so long I don’t think I’ll ever repay him.

“Ready?” Koen says.

I don’t reply with words. I just cock my gun and grin.

I’m more than ready to send a message. More than ready to let Darius and everyone else in his shitty pockets know that yesterday was not it. That we’re going to keep coming, keep attacking, till everyone of them is dead.

Koen sends his soldiers in first. That’s how they look, how they act. I’ll admit I’m impressed with how organised he is but then we’re up against Darius, we have to be just as good as he is, and he’s got the entire City’s militia on his side.

The place is armed. Fortified. I guess he did learn something.

It takes a full ten minutes of fighting just to get in the gates.

Back at the Control Room we know they’ve cut all the feed, ensured no word of this can get out through CCTV, phones, radios, anything. We’ve created a blackout zone. Scrambled everything.

But what it means is we can’t use anything either.

So we spent weeks memorising the plans, memorising which team goes where and who does what. There can’t be any mistakes. We can’t afford for there to be.

When we do get inside it’s way worse than I expected. It’s like some sci-fi futuristic nightmare. Everything is white. Sterile. To one side we know all the holding bays are. Cages essentially, by a nicer name.

And to the other side, that’s where all the shit happens. Where the surgical rooms are based. Where the organ dispatch place is. Where the incinerator is also located.

We get the victims out first. Koen tells them who he is, that we’re helping them, and for the most part they seem to believe us. I guess they know they’re going to die anyway so perhaps they need some sort of hope.

I watch as some of the poor fuckers have tubes removed from their bodies and they hobble out.

Every organ, every bit of tissue is stolen to order. Some of these poor bastards have been here for months, waiting till there’s a match. Till they’re unfortunate enough that some rich arsehole needs a lung or a cornea and their genetic code means they hit the jackpot and it makes them a suitable candidate.

From what we found from Ignatio’s records all those months ago some of these organs are even going out of the country. That this is an international operation. And I don’t doubt Darius has been keen to spread this further, after all, there are only so many millionaires and billionaires in this country. If he wants to continue his revenue stream he has to diversify right?

Once we’ve got all the innocents out we turn out attention to the rest. I don’t care who they are, cleaners, guards, doctors, you name it, we put a bullet in their heads. They were a part of this, they willingly helped aid this operation so they deserve everything they get.

But we make sure to document it, to take evidence. If it comes to it, we may need this to bring him down.

But just as we’re pouring the gasoline, just as we’re planting the explosives someone calls out. Shouts out.

I pause looking around and we all freeze as the headlights of a car illuminate the compound.

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