They Called Her the Devil

Chapter 16, Leo

Xander had dragged me out of bed way to early to go get some weapons or other. I'd hated getting up before noon but when the back of the limo popped open it almost made getting up early worth it.

We had spent most of the morning setting up targets and training. I had played with a few other weapons but none compared to my Leo 580 sniper rifle that I had designed and built almost entirely by myself.

During a raid on the Legion, my older brother Jamal had found an illegal 3D printer designed to print weapon parts. With the help of a former gun shop owner who'd joined the Order and some holo-tube videos on my x-com, I'd started designing my own guns.

The Leo 580 was semi-automatic, lightweight and easy to carry, and had a range of about half a mile. Also, it was specially tailored and sized for me to operate comfortably.

"Five bucks I can hit that bottle cap on that tree," I taunted Xander as I took aim.

"Deal" he reloaded a new magazine, "Now remember no pressure."

"Oh fuck off." I retorted.

I looked through the scope and aimed carefully at the faded orange bottle cap. My finger squeezed the trigger and I hit the cap right through the center. I gloated internally.

Xander cursed under his breath and reached for his x-com to give me my brand new five dollars. I loved winning.

"I must've left my x-com in the house," he lied, "pay ya back later."

I rolled my eyes. Xander never had any cash.

Izzie and Ian climbed up the ladder I'd set up. Izzie grabbed a throwing knife and tested its weight. She threw it and it lodged an inch from the center of an old plastic thingy.

She smirked and grabbed one of the rifles I had cast aside in favor of my Leo 580. She and Ian set up their guns and we did our normal thing of competing for the best shot.

I obviously won putting a bullet through an old Justin Beiber disc. I low key wished I'd destroyed it, my sister Zoe loved his music but I'd rather claw my eyes out.

Then I clipped the strings of three at the edge of the yard and beat my previous record. I was the king of this game!

Then Izzie looked like she'd seen a ghost. Her face got pale and her eyes got wide. Then I noticed what she was staring at and my heart started pounding.

Roughly sixteen men from the Gold Order were crouched in the bushes around the edges of the back yard. Then as if things couldn't get any worse I heard machine-gun fire from the front yard.

Xander frantically climbed down the ladder and I genuinely thought he was abandoning us until I remembered the Devil.

If it were me I would have left her. Who gives a shit if the daughter of Dictator McEvil got kidnapped or killed? As long as the Legion didn't get her.

Jamal had died fighting her brother. Hazel and Melody had been collateral when she attacked and they'd only been five. My parents had never fully recovered. I had no sympathy for that girl or her Legion.

I took aim at one of the legion men and hit him through the eye. I picked another and another as the chaos continued on below me.

Izzie and Ian were doing the same, though Izzie was having more success. I swear that girl could do everything. We both went to reload at the same time and exchanged grins.

Izzie had always been like a sister to me. She was one of my best friends. Not to mention freakishly smart and good in a fight.

I took aim at another Legion woman but a man jumped in front of the bullet obviously to save her. I suddenly didn't want to keep going. I did though.

I tried ignoring the girl who was now crying over her friend's body but for some reason, I couldn't let her die. I shot a Gold Order man who was about to kill her. Then another.

I became a sort of guardian angel to this girl. I just couldn't let her die after seeing her friend take a bullet for her. My bullet.

The girl looked up from her friend's body and we shared a look. I didn't try to stop her as he fled the battle. She was absolutely beautiful.

I turned back to the battle to find it had ended. About twenty bodies littered the ground the other ten having run away. I hoped the girl would be ok. I knew the Legion sometimes shot deserters.

I looked through my scope to see if I could find anyone else. Then I heard a gunshot from behind me and Ian cried out. I clambered to my feet as I heard another shot.

A man had climbed the ladder when we were distracted and shot Ian in the chest. Then Izzie had pulled her handgun and shot him.

Izzie walked over to the body and shoved it off of the roof before running over to Ian. She put pressure on the wound with her hands and when that didn't work pulled off her shirt and pressed it to the wound.

I looked away; I'd never thought of Izzie like that. Even if I had I respected her too much to objectify her.

I practically jumped off the roof of the one-story house as I sprinted inside. I pried open the drawer with the MC-57 and grabbed a vial and syringe.

I climbed up the ladder and took over holding pressure as Izzie filled the syringe and administered the lifesaving medicine. My hands were too shaky to get it right.

I pulled off my t-shirt and handed it to her. She wordlessly accepted it pulling it over her black bra.

"I'm going to go find Xander and the Devil," she ordered, "you stay here with Ian."

"Sounds like a plan," I replied.

Ian's wound had already started to close. The bullet had hopefully gone through him or he'd have it inside of him for the rest of his life. The tissue would simply heal around it.

I decided to make sure everyone had gone. I looked through my scope and could see her go across the street. Then I saw movement in the window of the house across the road and adjusted my focus.

My heart dropped. Xander was having a full-on make-out session with the Devil. They pulled apart right before Izzie entered the room.

That cheating bastard! He couldn't even bother to kiss a decent human being; it just has to be little miss scum of the earth. I'd kill him for this. Well, I'd at least knock out a few of his teeth.

***

Hi guys! What do you think now that you know why Leo hates Kate? Who was the girl Leo saved? What do you think Leo will do when he confronts Xander? Please vote and comment I want to know what you think!

-Jade