Side Effects

15 - Playing Cards

When Rhine finally arrived home, he came to find that he had guests already waiting in his living room, sat on the sofas with obvious impatience.

"You left the hospital yesterday, where were you?" Donnamira stood up and moved forward slightly, making the Ace of Spades move backwards out of fear.

"Relax, Donna, I went to a nice lookin' hotel near the hospital so I didn't have to walk too far so soon after the treatment." He defended, scratching the blond hair on the back of his head. "Wait, how did ya even get in here anyways?"

Donnamira turned to Gadolin, who was sat with his left ankle on his right knee and lazily slouched back. After noticing the attention of all eyes in the room, he lowered his scarf and waved a lock pick in his hand.
"It's been a while." Rhine greeted, unamused at the break-in.

Noticing brightly-coloured hair in the corner of the room, Rhine had to have a double-take at who he was looking at.
"Cherie?" He squinted at her. "What the hell is she doin' 'ere?"

"She's our Ace of Clubs."
Donnamira folded her arms, raised her eyebrows and smiled at the reaction on Rhine's face.

Rhine shook Cherie's hand, still quite bewildered by the news.
"Welcome to the Club then, I guess."

Gesturing for all four of them to be seated, Donnamira spoke words that all had long awaited.
"Well then, it's finally time for the Cards Organisation's first official meeting as a whole."

Rummaging in his dirty coat pocket, Gadolin retrieved a map of the city, and their final plans for the revolution were about to be put into place...

The reason why Donnamira had not yet rescued Bree from prison was generally because the Periculum Prison was now under the highest security, and it was truly impossible to find a way of getting her out.

Mourning but planning was all she had done since she received the phone call that her daughter was jailed.

Various times, she had asked for one of the Cards to help her break in and save Bree, but all had refused. It was too risky, and the only way to lower security was by causing chaos for police in the revolution. It would not be long now. All of the plans were under construction.

But what no one knew was that someone else learned of Bree's imprisonment, and was making their way to her cell as the Cards meeting went on...

Gadolin stared around the room at his fellow Cards, the murmurs of plans quickening and slowing in places and fingers tapped on the map.

He sneered at Rhine, who had a bandage wrapped around his forehead after the mighty blow he had caused. He had a reason behind it, for Rhine knew something that the others did not. A little-known secret that had been hidden for two centuries until now. Gadolin loathed Rhine for keeping it from the group, especially during a time where revealing government secrets would be their best card to play.

It was not for the Ace of Diamonds to reveal it, however, because if he did, then Rhine would know what caused that ridiculous bandage he wore.

Cherie piped up a few times to make very good points about the positions of people and how to rally the police up without being surrounded. She was very streetwise, Cherie was. The mind behind that red hair could remember the city streets like the back of her hand. Even with all these points sparking from her, deep down she was  still wondering why she had been chosen to work in this group of outlaws, and what this revolution meant for her.

And then there was Rhine, not making the most tactical decisions, but remaining adamant that he was right, even when his plans were replaced by others.