Ghost in the Shell

Chapter 6

Eyes opened slightly, Fred scanned around, he could see nothing at first and he groaned in pain…his head was banging, precisely where he had been struck and his body hurt like hell, it was then he realized he been roughly bandaged…he couldn’t understand why they were still keeping him alive “where is Julia?” he shouted in anger.
  “Oh, you’re awake” came a calm voice directly opposite Fred in a dark corner…Fred had been tied to a chair with his hands behind him. Straining his eyes to get a good look, he was surprised by what he saw…it was the guy at the park with Julia.
  “pardon me, we haven’t really met” the man said with a half dimple revealing smile “at least not this close” he continued with an outstretched hand and a look of enjoyment…”o pardon me…again, you are tied to the chair” he gave a long loud laugh as he withdrew his outstretched hand…coming to an abrupt stop, “I’m Noah” he said
  Fred looked at him with what seemed like sympathy and what he said next almost made Noah spit blood “o Noah it is...alright, so Noah tell me…who died at home? You’ve been crying since you entered here” looking around at the hard looking lackeys he continued” I hate noise, ask your boys to console you” nodding at his tied hands” as you can see, my hands are tied”.
  ‘Snap’ Noah snapped his fingers as the hefty figure from the hotel…now a eunuch…came forward and approached Fred.
Fred gave a friendly smile and shouted in an exaggerated manner like he was seeing his childhood friend “yo bro, how’s your little brother doing?” he asked while taking a curious look at the man’s trouser… this obviously sparked a flint of anger in the man, now directly before Fred, delivered to him a fierce punch with all the strength he could muster…leaving Fred’s face all bloodied ‘spit’ Fred spat out a mouthful of blood “is that all you’ve got? Fred taunted again with a bloodied teeth…the man was going to deliver another punch when he was stopped by Noah. The man stood back with his hands behind him.
  ‘Good doggie” Fred said again.
A door seemed to open out of thin air and in came two familiar faces…a look at one of the faces and Fred went white with horror and relief at the same time…thank God, she was safe.
  Colonel Adesiyan came in with Julia. The same as Fred, Julia’s eyes went wide with horror and she screamed his name as she ran towards Fred…a few men tried to stop her but a wave from the colonel saw them opening a path for her.
Julia tried to wipe at the blood on his face with her dress. Noah’s face twisted in anger…the colonel smile.
  “Fred look at me, Fred” Julia said with tears in her eyes “w…who did this to you?”
  Fred just smiled weakly, only with her could he show his weakness. “Hey, you’re looking beautiful, as always” he smiled again…this time with genuine happiness.
  The colonel gave a nod and Julia was taken back to him, looking at his daughter he said “your boyfriend…your boyfriend really is something, I like him”
  Julia looked at her father with tears in her eyes “dad please help him, why are you doing this?” amidst sobs she continued “you told me we were coming to see him at the hospital” Julia seemed so broken…Fred felt his blood boil in anger.
Slamming a file before Julia, the colonel shouted in sudden anger “he’s a disciple, he’s the last born” Fred raised his head with a fierce look, his inner beast snarled “he is Judas…last of the disciples” the colonel continued while looking at Fred “oh you’re surprised?” he chuckled “I have friends everywhere, just as I’ve made enemies…I’ve made friends too” the colonel obviously knew Fred’s secret…as if to confirm it, the colonel continued again “I knew since the day you stepped into my house”
   Fred seemed like a caged Tiger, ready to pounce at the first sight of freedom “so what are you gonna do, you sly bastard!” Fred shouted with the force of a million armies”.
“So you’ve truly been selling country secrets” this time Fred said with a calm and collected smile, he seemed like a news reporter.
The colonel gave a carefree laugh as he looked towards his daughter “what do you think, you think I’m evil?” he was asking Julia and without waiting for an answer he continued…”baby girl, I do this for you, for your brother abroad and for your mother”…with a sudden shout that made Julia cringe he continued “I do this for us”
  Julia was shocked, her father was a traitor? Life seemed to be meaningless at that moment, the man she loved was about to be killed by her father…who was a traitor to the country.
      She couldn’t speak.
“You’re a dead man anyways, so no point in hiding it” the colonel smiled “besides you’re my daughter’s boyfriend, in a way you’re family” he suddenly looked ruthless “I really am guilty about what you just accused me of” with a calm smile again “you don’t need to know anymore”…looking to Noah he said “kill him”…”No” Julia screamed.
  Fred gave a fierce grin ‘crash’ Fred fell backwards with the chair, it broke into pieces. He had secretly taken a pen knife from the hefty figure earlier when he had provoked him and now the knife came to use as he cut the ropes binding him. He immediately stood up, ducked an approaching punch and used the man as a meat shield against bullets that were fired at him…pushing the badly mutilated man away, he made a run in Julia’s direction with a fierce look on his face…he kicked an approaching man in the ribs while at the same dodging a fierce slash that seemed to come out of mid-air…he wasn’t so lucky as it left a deep gash on his stomach. It had been aimed at his chest.
  While in the middle of the brawl, Fred accidentally noticed a recent acquaintance of his…twisting the neck of a man while sustaining another deep wound to his shoulder, Fred threw the knife in his grip with all the force and momentum he could muster.

   Noah was amazed at the combat prowess shown by Fred…a man facing a whole gang of brutes all by himself. All he could do was hide in a corner while praying that Fred be killed quickly…’whizz’ he could feel something…something sharp pierce right into his chest…lodged all the way in only the handle was visible---it was a knife---
  Noah looked forward with all the energy remaining in him and saw Fred looking at him with a smile on his cruel face. Noah opened his mouth to speak but he couldn’t. His life was no longer his.
‘groan’ a bullet hit Fred from behind and the force of it pushed him the remaining distance to Julia and he just lay at her feet, he felt very comfortable…didn’t even feel the pain anymore. Julia’s tears fell on his face and mixed with his own “I love you, I always have” without even struggling with pain, he continued “I want to marry you” with a foolish smile on his face.
  Nodding her head fiercely “I’ll marry…I’ll marry you Fred, I’ll be your wife” she replied gently as she caressed his face “just get up please” his hand was holding hers tightly and he breathed like he was finally relieved of all stress, long and slow with a smile plastered on his bloody face…his eyes closed.
“Fred! Fred!! Fred!!!” Julia screamed as she was pulled away from the body.
   Fred was dead, his duty fulfilled, his love professed. He seemed so at peace lying dead on the ground.
  “Remember me in a simple way…not for the things I did or said” a soft whisper that seemed to connect with her soul sounded close to her ears. A whisper filled with affection.