Anita

Happy endings don’t last forever.

It’s been 10 years since the Guardians lobbied for rights and won, and Anita and Meriam have been living the dream. But when the Hayes turn down the government’s requests for further testing, everything goes downhill.

When Anita’s case file is leaked to the public, authorities have no choice but to act and Guardian rights are quickly thrown back under fire. To save her family Anita must once again confront corrupt officials, but this time it’s not her freedom on the line, it’s her life.

~~~

“Death Bringer!” Diaxel cried out the name of his stallion and galloped off, swinging an imaginary sword at foes only he could see. The black horse reared on his hind legs when he pulled the reins and Anita felt Meriam tense beside her.

“He’s going to fall off,” Meriam fussed, rocking back and forth on her heels.

“He’ll be fine.” Anita hefted herself up onto the fence, watching him run the horse through a series of jumps. “Death Bringer is a good horse,” she said wryly, internally cringing at the name her son had picked for the beast.

Horseback riding had been Meriam’s idea, after seeing how mopey he’d gotten once classes had started. They’d homeschooled him for the most part, but they’d felt it was time for him to get a real childhood and meet other children.

It’d only taken a few days for him to start complaining and moping around the house, though he wouldn’t say why. Not that they couldn’t guess. Anti discrimination laws meant little to children.

He’d picked up riding fast once they’d gotten the special saddle and riding gear made for him, so his crystals wouldn’t hurt the horse, and they’d been coming out almost everyday for him to ride and brush his horse.

Evidently having vanquished his foes, Diaxel urged Death Bringer back to where they waited, slowing to a trot when he got close.

“Done already?” Anita asked, sliding from her perch and helping him down.

Diaxel squinted at the plastic watch on his wrist, “It’s been an hour, DB needs a break. And we were going to watch that movie, remember?”

“Right,” Anita agreed, nodding at the stableman who took the saddle off the horse. “Go finish up then, we’ll meet you in the car.”

He took off after the stableman and Meriam smiled, shaking her head slowly. “He has so much energy.”

“That’s children for you.” Anita watched him race away before walking back to the car. Stretching her arms over her head, Anita yawned.

“Tired already?” Meriam teased. “You can’t fall asleep now, you promised you’d watch a movie with him. And you know how upset he gets when you fall asleep on him”

Anita laughed and rubbed her forehead. “I can’t help it, we’ve watched the same movies over and over again. It’s going to drive me mad. I’ve tried getting him into new ones but he won’t entertain the idea that something could be better than X-men.”

“Give it time, he’ll find something new to torment you with.” Meriam wrapped her arms around Anita’s waist and rested her head on the Guardian’s shoulder.

“That’s not reassuring.” Anita spun around and scooped the human up in her arms, earning her a squeal of protest.

“Put me down!”

“Never!” Anita broke into a run, holding Meriam tight to her chest. She ran the last few meters to the car, while Meriam grumbled and swatted at her, and leaned against the driver side door, refusing to let go of her hostage.

“Put. Me. Down.” Meriam repeated, struggling against her grip and pouting when she achieved nothing.

“No.” Anita nuzzled her cheek. “I enjoy holding you.” She pressed a kiss against the human’s forehead and smirked as Meriam turned away to hide her smile. She kept holding her until Diaxel came racing down the path, then finally relented so she could drive them home, placing her gently in the passenger seat.

Meriam grabbed Anita’s neck as she started to pull out, dragging her back for a kiss. She broke away laughing when Diaxel stuck his fingers between them, pushing on her nose. “Okay, okay,” Anita brushed his hand away and cupped Meriam’s face, whispering “I love you” before circling back around the car to take the driver’s seat.

~

Diaxel told them all about his adventures with Death Bringer as they drove home, only pausing when something caught his attention outside before resuming his tale. “As we broke through the evil lord’s castle to save Zelda we were stopped by a horde of goblins! But I fought them off.” He finished, nodding proudly.

“Great job hun...“Anita trailed off as they pulled into the driveway, distracted by the strange cars sitting in front of their house. She turned to Meriam. “Were you expecting anyone?” She shook her head and Anita frowned, telling her to wait in the car while she investigated.

She didn’t have a chance to grab the door handle before it opened and Cassius, an old friend who often watched the house or babysat Diaxel, ushered her inside. Anita glanced over at the other Guardian and mouthed “what’s wrong?”

“They’re here for him,” he mouthed back. From the look on his face he didn’t mean the boy’s monthly checkups and dread coursed through her veins. Anita was about to tell him to take them and run but was interrupted before she could speak.

“Ah, I see you’re back. Welcome home, Mrs. Hayes.” Several men she didn’t recognize came out of the living room and the speaker came forward to shake her hand. He glanced through the open door. “I understand the caution but there’s no need to fear. Please tell your wife to come inside. And the boy,” he tacked on when he noticed the second figure in the car.

Every one of her instincts was telling her to keep her family away from these people but one look at their faces, and the guns on their hips told her they wouldn’t just let them escape. Anita plastered a fake smile on her face. “We were just about to head to the library.” A weak lie, she knew that, but it was all she could think of in the situation.

He returned her smile. “Were you now? Well, I assure you this won’t take long. So please.”

Anita swallowed thickly and waved Meriam in. She saw her tell Diaxel to wait as she exited the car but before she could come to them the man walked forward. “The boy as well, if you please,” he called out to her.

Meriam narrowed her eyes with suspicion and Anita shook her head at her. “Don’t fight,” she mouthed. The human swallowed her retort and turned back to take Diaxel from the car. She held tightly to his hand as they walked up to the house.

“Excellent,” the man purred. “Please come sit.” He gestured at the living room. Anita kept herself between the strangers and her family as they complied with his request. The rest of the man’s entourage were waiting in the dining room, clearly having made themselves at home. Anita nudged Meriam towards the loveseat, and the human pulled Diaxel into her lap as she sat, wrapping her arms around him protectively. Anita sat on the arm closest to her, and Cassius took the empty cushion beside her.

The speaker, who she assumed was the leader, brought a chair over to sit across from them, and Anita shifted uncomfortably as his men took places around them.

“What can we do for you?” Meriam took up her ‘lawyer’ voice as she addressed the men and Anita was content to let her do the talking.

The man stared intently at Diaxel who, thankfully, didn’t notice he was being scrutinized. “We’ve come to speak about the young Guardian.”

Cassius broke in before he could finish explaining. “Perhaps I should take Diaxel up to his room, it looks like there’s a lot to discuss here and you know how children can be when asked to sit for more than a few minutes.”

Anita shot him a grateful look as the stranger shrugged and waved him on.

Meriam reluctantly released her son. “Come on little guy,” Cassius said, taking his hand. “I wanna see your rock collection again.”

The stranger waited for their footsteps to fade up the stairs before resuming. “He seems like a fine boy.”

“He’s wonderful,” Meriam said. “He just started school.”

The man raised his eyebrows. “Did he now?” he sounded surprised.

“Indeed he did, Mr...?”

“Ah!” His face flushed with embarrassment. “Where are my manners, Samuel Demau. Sam is fine.”

“And what can we do for you, Mr.Demau?” Meriam asked, rejecting his attempt at being casual. Anita saw his gaze darken for a moment before brightening up again.

“We’ve come on behalf of HCU to collect Guardian X,” he said. Anita narrowed her eyes, the last run in she’d had with the Herect Containment Unit had been ten years ago when they’d ground down the crystals on her back for escaping the Guardian compound.

“I thought HCU was disbanded for negligence,” Meriam said.

Demau smiled and shook his head. “We were temporarily suspended as they investigated but once they removed everyone suspected of foul play we were reinstated. Someone has to take care of the Herects, after all they are still a threat.”

Anita couldn’t hold her tongue any longer. “What does the HCU want with my son?” Her voice was tinged with lingering distrust and hatred and Meriam placed a hand on her knee to stop her from making an outburst.

“An agreement was made that Diaxel would be left alone until he turned eighteen,” Meriam reminded him.

“I’m well aware of that agreement.” Demau drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. “But as more Guardian Xs are starting to be conceived it’s become imperative that we do further testing now, to be sure these new creations will be safe.”

“They are safe, you don’t need to take him away to realize that. Diaxel is advancing just like any human child.”

Demau nodded. “On the surface it may appear so, yes, but,” he added, “we can’t know that for sure unless we can get more information.”

Anita stood from her perch, glaring at the man in front of her. She could feel his guards tensing around her, ready to shoot if necessary. “You will not turn my son into a lab rat,” she hissed.

“I understand you’re concerned, Anita. But he’s not really your son, is he?” He met her glare evenly.

“How dare yo-” Meriam reached forward and grasped one of Anita’s hands before she did something stupid. Anita bit her tongue, wanting nothing more than to beat them into the ground but a part of her warned that that was exactly what he wanted her to do. Anita went cold at the realization that they were waiting for her to attack, likely so they would be free to take Diaxel from an unfit household.

“He is our son,” Meriam said, dragging Anita out of her thoughts. “Even if we are not related by blood. We have raised and loved him since the day he was born and he will always be a part of us.” Meriam’s voice was calm but Anita could tell the human was just as furious as she was.

“My apologies, I spoke out of line.” He rose from his seat and bowed deeply. “I did not come here today to take the boy by force.” Liar, Anita thought. “But I implore you to reconsider. There are dark times ahead and the future is more uncertain than ever before.” He caught Anita’s eye. “I would hate to see anything happen to your family.”

Anita didn’t like the hidden meaning in his words. “It’s time for you to go,” Meriam growled, rising from her seat as well. “We’ve given you our answer. Diaxel will remain with us until he is eighteen and will then be free to make his own decision, as per our agreement with the government.”

Demau sighed but complied and gestured for his men to leave. Anita followed him to the door, but he halted in the doorway and glanced back at her, his voice and eyes suddenly as cold as ice. “You’re making a very serious mistake.” He slammed the door before she could respond and Anita watched from the window to ensure they all left.

Anita turned back to Meriam, seeing her own fears reflected in her eyes. “He wanted me to kill him. So they could take Diaxel.” Meriam nodded slowly. Anita moved so she could wrap her arms around her. Meriam clung to her and Anita could feel her chest heaving. “It’s okay,” she soothed, holding her tight and stroking her back as Meriam let out choking sobs into her shoulder. “I will do whatever it takes to keep the two of you safe.”

“This was supposed to be over,” Meriam whispered.

“We’ll figure it out.” Anita promised. Footsteps grasped her attention and Anita looked up to see Cassius standing at the foot of the stairs, one hand curled around the railing so hard his knuckles were going white.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

Meriam spun in her arms so she could see him. “They want to take him away. Experiment on him.”

“I’m so sorry. I never should have let them in but I thought something might have happened to you an-”

“It’s not your fault.” Anita assured him. “There was nothing else you could have done. And thank you for taking Diaxel out of there. He wouldn’t have understood.” She sighed heavily. “But what are we going to do now? You heard him, there’s no way they’ll just lie down with an ‘okay enjoy your lives.’ They want him.”

“You’ll have to leave. That’s the only option,” Cassius said.

“We can’t just disappear, it’ll look too suspicious and they’ll find us. It’s not as easy to hide your trail as it is in movies,” Meriam argued. “And even if it was, I don’t have those kinds of contacts. And,” she continued, “Guardians aren’t exactly known about worldwide, he’d never be able to stay hidden that long, and you don’t have the patience to learn a new language.” She directed the last bit at Anita.

“They won’t have him,” Anita snarled. “I’ll slaughter them if I have to.”

Cassius snorted. “You’ve only actually killed one person, don’t assume you’ll be able to kill more.”

Anita growled, tightening her grip around Meriam. The human winced and squirmed. “Hun. You’re hurting me.”

Anita dropped her arms immediately and stepped back, ducking her head. “I’m sorry.” She clenched and unclenched her fists as a sheet of ice slowly made its way from her palms up her arms.

“Anita, my love, you have to calm down.” Meriam cupped Anita’s face in her hands and held her gaze.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Anita sighed, reigning in her temper. “There’s nothing to be done today, we’ll just have to wait and see I guess.”

Meriam nodded in agreement, “whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

~

It didn’t take long for the HCU to make their next move. They did it publicly, while Anita, Meriam and Diaxel were out shopping.

Swarms of guards surrounded them as Anita hefted a carton of milk into her cart. She froze as guns pointed at her and her family. Meriam immediately picked up Diaxel, holding him protectively and moving behind Anita. “What the hell is going on?” Meriam snapped.

“Mrs. Hayes. You are under arrest.”

Anita and Meriam blinked at each other. “Under what charges?”

“The murder of Robert Conwell.”