The Red Nights

" Our role is quite simple but very important, we have to choose the venue for the fight " Lina started to expose, while accompanying her speech with gestures of the hands she tried to be as clear as possible " a place afar from main city in order to avoid that the citizens get a clue about it since we don't want to create the panic ".

" Since I arrived in the city I have worked along with Natasha and Matteo and we have started to look for the venue " Brad said after he rose his hand and Lina gave him the talk " though you already told me that we still need some more precision about the characteristics that place should have ".

Lina gazed at Natasha and Matteo confused, she then told them " you both should be able to determine the best spot for the fight, so I don't understand why do I have my word to say ".

The two people glanced at each other before they suddenly turned away, as if they just came out from a quarrel.

Lina stared at Brad with an interrogative expression and the latter lowered his gaze and stroked the back of his head before answering her " in fact they both have an idea of where we should do it... but the problem is that each of them proposed me a totally different place and they refuse to agree on one venue only so without knowing your criteria I'm not able to decide which one is the best ".

" Seriously " Lina sighed a little exasperated, she then asked Brad " what is your own opinion about their two propositions? "

" They are both pretty good and I can't help thinking they are quite fitting for this fight but that's exactly the problem " he confessed.

Lina then demanded both Natasha and Matteo to describe the venues they had chosen and after hearing them out she pondered for a short while before she said " you're right they are both good... but they won't make it let's look for another ".

Natasha and Matteo glanced at each other dumbfounded before they started protesting to Lina " why do you they aren't good? the I chose is perfect and you know it " Natasha said, " stop kidding, it's the have chosen which is totally what we need, so why are you saying that? " Matteo refuted her.

" Listen to me carefully " the woman said with a strong voice, " I said they are both good indeed but we should start thinking about somewhere " before they could argue she added " you all focused on the shape of the place without remembering that for the fight to happen you must firstly bait the enemy and bring them there "

" But that shouldn't be a problem " Natasha said while glancing at Matteo as if to verify that he was thinking the same, " we just have to put barricades the long of the road and attract them until the indicated place ".

Though Matteo and Brad nodded in agreement Lina was not convinced, she shook her head before she said " will you be naive enough to think that they would quietly follow you wherever you are going? "

Natasha in her calm voice she replied " But they will in their state of walking corpses so... ", " so you think they will be completely dumb and would do whatever we want them to do? " Lina cut her in a dry tone " are we at least certain about that fact? " no one replied so she continued " you see? It's a very crucial and delicate operation so we can't afford laying our strategy on suppositions, we should think about somewhere near the barrier where we will be sure that the path of the outlaws would not deviate ".

The room became suddenly quiet, they all started to work their brains together trying to think about somewhere else, minutes passed Lina was about to tell them to call it a day and try to go scout again in the area near the barrier when Dana, who had been silent since they arrived, came with an interesting idea, " what about make it in the streets ".

All eyes turned towards her suddenly what made her startling a little, she didn't add anything before Lina told her " pardon? ".

She crossed her fingers shyly and responded " back in Short-river, in the district I was living, when members of a gang or just normal people had a problem with someone and wanted to clear it without that person getting a clue of that they never call him to give rendezvous in a factory or wherever venues which may be too suspicious, they would always meet that person in the streets and would attract that person in a dark alley and would beat him up there before fleeing ".

Brad enforced that argument while saying that he was familiar with that kind of situations without giving more details.

Dana carried on with some more confidence " my point is that since we don't want them to notice that we are driving them into a trap we should make in sort to make the trap fall onto their heads by setting it up in an alley ".

She then quiet down and she stared at Lina wondering what was she thinking about her idea, the latter stayed a moment to consider that plan before she said with a good enthusiasm " yes, if we do the preparations necessary for that I think that plan can work well " she then landed her eyes on Dana and told her with a smile " good job little thing ".

" Thank you " she said in a very low voice while trying to hide her face as she was feeling like blushing.

" Alright " Lina shouted to bring back the attention to the most essential part, " so tomorrow Brad and Matteo you will go gathered some people to accompany you to the barrier to go prepare the place and put the barricades I'm sure you can easily find the best spot according to what we've just agreed ".

" Why do you suddenly excluding me from the group? " Natasha protested.

Lina didn't immediately respond to her, she didn't want to say too much about her part of the plan since there were too many people so she wanted to make her understand that she couldn't reveal too much, but seeing how insistent she was Lina and decided to answer her while being as less precise as possible, " know that your job in that fight is the most important so it went to fail... if you went to be defeated that would mean the death of every single one of us. I can't take the risk to exhaust you by giving you such tasks, and knowing you I'm sure you would have done more than what you have been asked ", Natasha wanted to stand up and say some words to defend herself but Lina didn't give her the time, before she could say a word she rose a hand before and shook her head " there is no room for protest, you will stay in your home and have some rest until Jamal comes to take you for the battle " Lina wanted to add something else but she felt that it would not be necessary.

The room once again became silent with a quite awkward mood which was exactly what Lina wanted to avoid, unintentionally she just put more pressure on Natasha's shoulder.

Donald, who was then the only who didn't speak since the beginning of the reunion, coughed to break the silence and once all the attention was on him he asked with a calm voice " I see that all the organization is on good hands and so I would want to know for which reason was I asked to attend to this gathering? ".

Lina tilted slightly her head, " because you have your role to play too ".

" Have I? " Donald stared at Lina a little bit confused since he knew that she was aware that he was not a remarkable soldier neither he was a good fighter, he didn't have any slight of talent concerning coordination of battle or whatever concerning wars, he had been promoted captain for the only reason that he was older than most of the people in the army and most specifically because he was quite skilled at managing and deal with people and for that he couldn't see which role could he play in that furious and very not common battle.

As if Lina had read in his mind she smiled mysteriously and told him, " that's exactly that. It's not your low qualities of fighter which are asked here but rather your skills of orator. it's true that the plan is that Jamal would ask the help of the armies from the four cities in but it's not sure that they would all accept and even if they do it may still not be enough. You see, we are engaged in a type of battle we're not used to against enemies which are mysterious but completely surrealistic, to win against them we will need all the help we can get " she lowered her voice a little " but due to that abominable night and all the other difficulties they went through since then people are afraid, we are working to try taking off that terror from their hearts but it's not easy, you're a psychologist so you must know, it's a very long process, but we need them urgently ".

" So you are asking me to convince them to take part in that fight, right? " he asked abruptly while bowing his head to stare down at the floor.

Lina understood that he didn't want the people around see his expression as he didn't want to bring down even more their moral. [ I'm maybe asking him too much ] she thought but knew at the same time that she didn't have other choice even if it was unethical for a doctor like him. " I wouldn't ask you that if it wasn't necessary. You don't have to tell them to put a step in the battlefield but just to contribute as much as they can. You know that without your talent to talk to people Brad and Matteo won't be able to get the help of anyone ".

She let him the time to think about it before taking his decision and a while later he released a long sigh and rose his head while wiping his face then he stared at everyone around him and when his sight finally landed on Lina he nodded and said " if it is for the survival of everyone I will try to convince them, as long as I don't ask them to fight and hide the true nature of the danger I think it's gonna be alright ".

" Thank you, I really appreciate. I know that it should have been my role since I'm the mayor but it wouldn't work if it's me " Lina told him with a grateful smile. " Yeah that's right, you're too scary " Matteo couldn't help but comment what caused him to be punched slightly by her.

" There is no need, I'm just doing what is necessary to contribute in bringing peace in our lives " Donald humbly replied and added with a smile " moreover I'm sure that in her side Volga is putting all her efforts to make that dream come true so as the man she has chosen I can't let her down ".

" That's right, that's how a man should talk " Lina said with a sudden enthusiasm, she pushed Matteo and told him " you better take example of him if you want to earn the heart of the other little thing " while pointing out Dana.

" Excuse me! " they both exclaimed at the same time, Dana turned to Matteo and with her cold expression she told him " I don't know what kind ideas you have put in your mind but there will be nothing between us ".

" Because you think I had the slightest interest in you, come on what kind of teenager do you think I am, open your eyes we're not in a romantic TV show " he retorted right after she said that.

Lina put a hand on her mouth and held herself as much as she could to not burst out laughing.

Natasha stood up to stop the fight, she went to place herself between the two teenagers and said " well I think we all know what we have to do so it's time to end this meeting, tomorrow we will continue on our preparations... no I suppose that I should say you will carry on since I have to save my strength ".

" Yes... you're totally right " Lina added, still a hand before her mouth with zome more difficulty to control her breathing. She stood and started walking slowly toward the door.

" It's surely already late so I think it's better for me to stay and sleep here " Donald replied a little embarrassed as he knew that everyone understood that he just didn't want to be outside in the darkness of the night what in Natasha's opinion was completely comprehensible, besides Jamal, Lina, her, the large majority of Stainfall citizens and then adding with Matteo and Dana no one else would dare putting a step outside in those hours, at the moment the night fell they would all stay inside their homes.

" OK got it " Natasha replied without adding unnecessary words, she then pushed Matteo and Dana toward the exit and said behind her " ciao " and they left.