All's fair in love and warfare

It was the right decision to take a stand against the Senate finally, it was the right decision to take the fall for it. Adriana was someone with sway, a family name and a reputation, the fourth needed a centurion like that. It had made the decision easy for Lina. Refusing to send the fourth to their position had been both the Centurions’ resolution, yet Lina had always had a back up plan for when it would go wrong, because it would. Everyone would notice that the fourth wasn’t there and they would send someone to see what the issue was. And they did, they sent Cat. Lina had seen Cat first, the other woman walking with purpose, and when Adriana had began to say they would be arrested together, Lina couldn’t have that. Their cohort needed to have a centurion with a good head, they needed to have someone leading them, and if Adriana wasn’t going to make the hard decision, Lina would do it for her. So she had sent a sleeping spell in her best friend’s direction. Adriana had gone tumbling down, body suddenly too relaxed to hold her up. It was simplest to say that Lina was arrested for her treason and attack. She had betrayed the Senate and seemingly betrayed Adriana. She hoped people would understand why she did what she did eventually, she hoped they wouldn’t judge her too harshly.

Callum had been aiding his cohort and any other person he found on the streets. Medical attention first and then determine whether they were Greek or not. He was just about to leave the infirmary when he heard two demigods from the fourth whispering. Cat had arrested Lina for not sending out the cohort. Callum couldn’t bare to stand the words that he was hearing. Kolina Valla, Centurion of the Fourth Cohort, arrested. “That’s ridiculous.” It seemed as if the words were directed to the kids, but it was more to himself than anyone else. He had made up his mind before the kids could assure him that it has happened. He headed towards Camp Jupiter HQ, where the holding cells where for criminals. Callum, being a Centurion himself had no issue getting in and having access to the cells. Well, that’s what he thought. The first set of guards let him through without any issues, but the second set stopped him. “Excuse me. Centurion Hayes. Let me through.” Instead, the guards demanded more proof than words. Callum had dropped his helmet somewhere in the field and had used his Centurion cape to wrap up a wound. His eyes flashed pink and the guards opened up on demand. Finally, he found his way to Lina’s cell, a sense of relief spreading inside him to see that she was okay. “Lina! What are you doing here?! I heard rumors and I had to see if they were true or not!”

Lina elbows were on her knees, her hands holding up her face as she stared crossly at the wall of the cell. She hadn’t imagined she’d end up in jail for treason. She knew that her eccentric ways often made people uncomfortable and had assumed that she would potentially get arrested for something random when she was an old woman. This wasn’t what she had in mind. She looked up, startled, when Callum spoke. Shifting on her bed to look over at him, she looked confused,“I guess people found out then.” She shrugged at him,“They’re true. I committed treason and I cast a spell on Adriana. Cat arrested me a while ago.” She glanced at the television that the guard was watching, the news blaring on about the war in New Rome against the Greeks. “How is it outside? Have you seen any of the fourth, are they okay?” Lina couldn’t help but feel like with a war going on they had more than enough reason to kill Lina. She wondered if they Senate would go that far, it would make a huge statement. It would teach those thinking about doing something as she did to do the opposite.

Callum shook his head. It wasn’t right. Arresting Lina at this time. They needed everyone they had. “You saved lives. The armory was blown up. Multiple people were killed. Who knows how many from the fourth would have been hurt if you’d sent them out.” The pain and suffering from the injured had already settled over him, he couldn’t imagine the dreams he’d have for the next year. “Elara and I helped most to safety, It’s… well, it’s a battlefield out there.” He held onto the bars that not only kept Lina in jail, but kept her safe. For now. “This is bullshit. If we start arresting Romans now, there’s no way we’re going to win the war.” He looked over at the TV, and then to the guard, summing up how hard it would be to take him out without causing a scene. It was probably best just to compel him. Compel him. The memory of Kolina and himself having the competition back during the festival appeared in his head now. Things were so much simpler then. “Are you ready to get out of here?” He whispered to her.

Lina’s eyes closed at the mention of the armory, fingers going to the bridge of her nose and pinching slightly. She didn’t want to think of the dead. How many people did she know were now gone? “I didn’t want them to be force to help with this, not when I know they have Greek friends. I wanted to give them an out, a reason to stay back.” She had seen the faces of her legionnaires when they realized they had to help. They were terrified. She had to do something, so she did. She perked up slightly at the sound of her sister’s name,“Elara is safe then?” Lina held her tongue, she wasn’t going to comment on the war. Not when she wasn’t even sure where she stood with it. There were deaths on both sides, no side was innocent. Her brows furrowed,“What do you mean?” She didn’t imagine that Callum was about to help her get out of this, that path would be a long and bumpy one.

“Elara is hurt, but she will be fine.” Callum said, recalling her injuries. He shook his head. “You did something noble. You had the guts that most of us didn’t.” He paused, choosing his words wisely. “I used to hate Greeks. Fuck, I even broke things off with Z just because he was Greek. The hatred sent me into a state that I did not like. I felt like I didn’t know who I was. I was trying to protect the people I love, instead, I was just hurting them instead. I went to see Annabeth about it, and I worked with Maia to forgive the Greeks.” He paused again, “I don’t think they are innocent and I still think that they don’t belong, but they can be trained. I also don’t think that they’re behind this fully. There’s more going on here than both you and I can imagine.” He shook his head, recalling his suspicions about the cult being behind most of this. “So. I’m going to get you out of here. I’ll sneak you into a tunnel and I’ll get you to a safe room.” He had planned to take her to one of his moonshine cellars until he found a better place to help her. “Maybe we can get you to the Greeks, where you belong, but you can’t ask questions until we’re safe.” The guard seemed to becoming irritated by his presence, suspicious of their whisperings. “There’s not much time. I’m doing this. Just agree to trust me.”

Lina’s face saddened at the news that Elara had been hurt, but she couldn’t discount that as a good thing. At least her sister wasn’t dead. “I just had to do what I felt was right, even if it seemed wrong to the Senate. I don’t know if that’s noble.” At his words, Lina felt like she understood him a bit better. He was trying and that mattered, not a lot of people were willing to try. “I have to agree with you on that, I don’t think they are behind all of this. I don’t think they’d risk it all just for vengeance.” She wanted to ask so many questions, she wanted to make sure that he knew what he was doing. Alas, he was right. They didn’t have time, not with a war going on. “I trust you.”

With those three words leaving her mouth, Callum straightened himself up, drawing confidence into his stature. “As the current acting Centurion of the Third Cohort, I order you to unlock this cell now.” He addressed the guard, hoping that he’d follow his orders instead of Callum needing to use his abilities. Instead, the guard just laughed at him, getting to his feet from where he sat and watched tv. This time Callum’s eyes glowed pink, charm speak dancing on the words he spoke next. “Open this cell and hand me the keys. Then act normal until we have left.” The air between Callum and the guard turned electric, and with that, a sort of trance took over the guard, you could see it in his eyes. The man walked over and unlocked the cell that separated Lina from the outside world. As the key turned and the sound of the lock ticked, Callum felt a strange pull on his heart, like heartburn but something much more malevolent. Callum was not only performing an act of treason, he was breaking his oath to Cat Karavadra. An oath he had made of the river Styx. He let out a yelp, more out of shock than pain. “I suggest we hurry.” He said now taking the keys from the guard before turning around and beginning to unlock her cuffs that stopped her from using her powers.

Cat sighed to herself as she watched Callum charm speak the guard into giving him the keys and opening Lina’s cell. Clicking her fingers, she summoned her personal guard of her most trusted and loyal legionnaires, grabbing her guns, she set off down the hall and into the room that held Lina’s cell. There had been no sound, but the images had been enough to tell Cat what Callum was doing. Of all the people to betray her, she’d never expected it to be him. He was bound by an oath after all. Making a sign to stop, Cat looked at her guard and left them outside of the cell before stepping in with both guns drawn, one trained on Kolina and one on Callum. “Enough,” she said finally, “both of you are under arrest, Lina again and Callum for the first time. Don’t move or I will shoot you where you stand.” She sighed gently as her fingers flicked the safety off and she kept both her guns trained on the pair of them. Fear and nerves reared their head in her stomach, but she ignored them, relying on her training.

Lina felt like her heart stopped when she saw Cat. They had been caught and they hadn’t even really started. “Callum, put your hands up, her guns are out,” Her voice was soft and obviously scared. With one hand out of the disabler cuffs, she gently pushed his hands aside, put her hands clearly into the air. The cuffs dangled off her left wrist, but with one of she could feel her magic coming back to her a bit. Having a gun pointed at her was terrifying. Having the person behind the gun be Cat made it even worse. She had seen the other woman’s accuracy, she didn’t need to think about going against what Cat told her, she didn’t want to be at the receiving end of a bullet. “I’m not going to fight or anything.” She told Cat, her eyes wide.

Callum occupied himself with unlocking her disabler cuffs but as the commanding sound of Cat’s voice fill the room, his heart sank. Cat had found out, how? As he stood up, hands in the air, he saw it. There was a security camera in the corner of the room. How could he have been so naive? Callum began to reason with her, “Cat. It’s not how it seems. If we start arresting fellow Roman’s now, there’s no way we’d have a chance! You have too under–” Callum couldn’t finish his sentence before the cell echoed a familiar noise he had heard not to long ago. The noise was that of a bullet being fired from Cat’s gun. He had heard the sound before, when he had used the gun to save Cat’s life down in the pit whilst trying to find out who had poisoned Jax. At first Callum thought Cat had missed. Again, more naivety. Cat never missed. A pool of warmth started to spread across his stomach, his hands moved slowly to the area, scared at what he would find. When his fingers met the warm substance, his head dipped, glancing down at his now crimson stained shirt. There was disbelieve in his eyes when he looked back at Cat. How could she? He dropped to his knees, he felt the energy physically leaving his body. Everything was happening in slow motion, or was that just Callum’s mind trying to savor every moment he had left. “Run!” He screamed at Lina, his eyes pure with energy, “Run to safety!” His whole life force was put into his words, what was left of it anyway, an electric atmosphere buzzing around him. His eyes flickered back to meet Cat’s. He had no words, surely Cat wouldn’t let him bleed to death. Surely. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than telling the truth. Callum Hayes, son of love, fallen to the hands of hate.

Sighing sadly, Cat felt hot tears rush to her eyes as she tugged on the trigger of her revolver. Callum had left her no other choice than to fire on him. Swallowing away the lump that was starting to form in her throat. She had missed. Not completely. But she’d been aiming for Callum’s head. She didn’t know why she tugged her gun down at the last moment, but she regretted it. Killing Callum had been hard enough, but she either had to finish the job off or watch her friend bleed out. “You really shouldn’t of done that Callum,” she said, “I told you not to move, but why did you have to break your word, I told you that I would kill you if you betrayed me. But we could’ve been great, you and I could’ve really brought change.” She felt the tear trickle down her face. “Stay still Lina,” she said, “I don’t want to shoot you too.” Her other gun still leveled at the Centurion of the Fourth. Finger twitching gently on the trigger.

The noise of the gun going off made Lina jump slightly, though she didn’t truly understand what had happened until she saw Callum fall to his knees and looked down to see some of his blood on her front. She started to shake. Callum’s words took over her body, even though he brain screamed at her to not move. With her face melted into a look of pure terror, Lina started to run. “I can’t stop, I don’t know why,” She said, running as fast as she could out of the cell. She was going to die. Cat was going to shoot her. Who was going to tell her dad that she died? She’d never been so scared. Cat was going to shoot her. Lina was going to die. She’d shot Callum and they’d been friends. Lina couldn’t imagine that Cat would hesitate with her, not when they’d been rocky at best. She heard the shot before she felt the impact. Searing pain suddenly met her shoulder, as the bullet impacted her body. She didn’t know that bullet wounds burned until now. It was an indescribable pain. She had never felt a wound like this. She wanted to stop running, she wanted to curl up in a ball and surrender. Her body kept running, though her eyes clouded up with tears.

Tears came to Callum’s eyes as his mind truly caught up with what was happening. “Cat, I’m sorry.” He began, softly, but his tone then surged with anger. “I’m sorry that your views have become so fucked up that you’d kill the guy that saved your life.” He spat. There was no way he was going to die, pleading for his life. He was going to die an honorable death. He’d made terrible mistakes in his life, freeing Lina was not one of them. Terror flooded his system as he heard the gunshot go off, worried that Lina didn’t make it out, but here footsteps echoing down the hall confirmed that she was not dead. Not yet. He stood up off his knees now, coughing blood. He drew his gladius and aimed it at Cat. “Let her go. You’re as bad as your father.”

Sighing gently, Cat rolled her eyes at the self righteous speech that she received from Callum. “Please, you swore an oath to Rome and to me. An oath that you broke. I warned you of the consequences. I’m a woman of honour, a woman of my word.” Shaking her head sadly she took a step forward. “You betrayed me and you’ve betrayed your city by aiding the escape of an arrested centurion.” The irony was that Callum had probably only made the situation worse. Raising her gun, she took a deep breath to steady her aim, and fired, the barrel of her gun aimed at Callum’s head. The gun exploding wildly and the bullet firing towards his head.

There were a few moments of quiet as Lina ran, the pounding of her feet and heart the only things she heard. Blood flowed down her arm, but she couldn’t think of it then. She could think of anything but the image of Callum getting shot. Cat hadn’t hesitated. The only solace Lina had was that it was a shot to his stomach, perhaps that meant he would be able to get help. Cat wouldn’t let him die, right? Her question was answered swiftly when the sound of another gunshot rang off. She felt sick. She wanted to throw up. That had to mean Callum was gone. Why would Cat shoot him twice, if not to kill him? Tears poured down Lina’s face. For the first time in sixteen years, she cried. He had been trying to help her. He had been trying to make up for the wrong he had done. She ran through the sobs that were going through her body. His last command pushing her further than she thought she could make. How could Callum be dead? None of this seemed real anymore. He had just been there. He had been trying to help her and he had saved her. It wasn’t right. Lina wasn’t going to let anyone forget what he had done for her, what he was trying to correct.