I Remember Love

In the weeks to follow anything resembling the old Amalia slipped away into the recesses of her memory along with her father and grandfather.She kept herself busy night and day establishing a connection in the underground using the prestige she managed to acquire after joining the Soldiers.

Word on the street had it that after witnessing her skill in a bar fight Hunter had immediately recruited her. It was a distorted truth of but little consequence to her as it served to further her goals.

Using the fear the Soldiers instilled in the streets and her position of Lieutenant she was able to build up an intelligence network amongst the inhabitants of the seedy underground. Apart from that she swiftly packed up all her belongings, the little that she needed and found herself an apartment which would serve as her base.

She could have stayed at the warehouse but at this point, she needed to be freed from the grasp of Hunter and Charlie. Instead, she dropped out of school and began to work to cover her food and rental expenses.

The apartment would be considered modest by any standard. It consisted of one small room, a bathroom, and a small kitchenette. There was a lone table by the window where she ate. Attached to the wall was a myriad of photos of the three men she had managed to acquire since her father's death. With the photos were memos and post it notes denoting various sightings and locations.

Slowly, she was zeroing in on them.

She hadn't slept since her last with Hunter. Her PTSD had become far worse as her mind was eaten away with remorse. It was only in the waking hours that she was able to function, finding comfort and distraction from her troubles in her personal manhunt.

Amalia had the day off work and she needed to go somewhere to train. She hadn't made an appearance at the warehouse in several days. She couldn't continue to use the Soldiers' name for her purposes without making an appearance. It also happened they had the best area for her to train in. The only thing that bothered her, was that going there, there was no avoiding Hunter or Charlie.

Amalia grabbed her bag on her way out the door and took some back alleys to her old meeting spot with Charlie. Slipping into the bathroom she quickly switched gears. Leaving behind her jeans old persona, she stepped out of the bathroom prepared to return to the club as Luke. It was time to get to work.

*****

Charlie hadn't seen or heard from Luke since their phone call. After several days of anxiously waiting, hoping Luke would return to their old meeting place, he gave up and made his way one last time to the school.

He'd asked a few of the girls as he had last time only to have them all shake their heads while they tossed adoring glances his way. It was a hassle, but he had to be sure. Having come to a dead end he had no choice but to give up. Sometime or other, Luke would return to the club. When he did, Charlie had so many questions for him he didn't even know where to start.

All eyes turned to Luke as he entered the room, they watched in silent confusion as he entered the room. Most of them have assumed him dead, so when he walked in the room the shock was visible on their faces.

Luke bypassed most of the onlookers. He made his way through the main floor to the outdoors in the back where the sparring dummies were strung up and began to strip down to his t-shirt and sweats. Luke wrapped his hands and took a deep breath. He was prepared for the hurt, he hadn't practiced or sparred in days. Fortunately, he had a lot of feelings to work through. The dummies would provide a perfect outlet for his stress.

He had been dreading a run in with Hunter since their previous argument but he was nowhere to be seen. Feeling a little relief he prepared to swing out to strike the dummy first, only his hand never met the target. Instead, it was caught mid-swing by Charlie. The older man stood, staring down at him in frustration as he swung his fist back.

"You finally make it back to the club and you can't even come to greet me."

It was a complaint that sounded more like an accusation than it did a statement of facts. Luke pulled back his fist and stared back at the man whom he had once considered a brother.

"Did I hurt your feelings? Are you looking for someone to give you a hug now?" Luke replied. Calm. And not just, the ice in voice was enough to freeze even Charlie in his tracks.

Shock ran across the other man's features swiftly followed by pain and then, at last, anger. No longer thinking about the consequences he swung, hitting Luke square in the jaw as he glared at him.

"Sorry, I thought I had a brother here. Turns out it's just some selfish prick whose too good to keep his word to his comrades." Charlie threw the accusation at his brother as though it was a gauntlet, his words causing an immediate backlash, caused Luke to flinch in shock.

Charlie had never spoken to him like this before.

Dizzied by the fist which had caught him off guard, Luke rubbed his jaw muttering curse words beneath his breath.

"Bastard, the f*ck you think you're doing?" On instinct, Luke's fist shot out to punch Charlie square in his stomach, not just once but 3 times in succession.

In a matter of moments what had started with a mere swinging of fists became full-on grapple with the two of them scuffling about on the ground. The sounds of their fists echoing in the silence of the yard as they rolled about on the grass.

Bloody hell! This was absolutely the last thing he needed.

Before Luke was aware of what was happening, Charlie was leaning over him, his weight holding pinned to the ground as he stared down the man he had once considered family.

"The hell, Luke. What's gotten into you. You promised we would talk, but you just blowing me off? And when did you and the boss become so close?" The look of betrayal in Charlie's eyes was enough to break Luke's heart.

He looked away.

"It isn't what you think...I was just doing some research for the boss. I can't tell you any more than that."

It was an obvious lie. It was the second one he'd been told since they joined the Foot Soldiers and Charlie had had enough.

Luke used Charlie's momentary distraction provided by his lie to shove Charlie off of himself and made his way to his bike.

"I have some personal matters to attend to, I came here to train. If I can't train I may as well just leave."

Charlie blinked in stunned silence as he watched the younger man walk away. He had been blown off before now doubt, but this was different. Before, Luke had been brash. Arrogant even. Now, the man walking away from him was cold and aloof. This was no longer the Luke he knew, that man was gone and the one before him was a cold hard stranger.