Reborn Heart of Steel

The principal’s office had never been very large, but at the moment it felt as if it were narrowing in on me, as the walls seemed to be slowly inching in with each pained inhalation that I drew. Principal Reeves looked at me and waved me toward a chair, her expression invariably professionally serene. The two police officers stood next to her desk. The fact that they had accompanied her to the door made her allergic to such type of school meeting. “Miss Brianne,” said Principal Reeves, and her tone was something close to gentle, not at all characteristic. That is, unfortunately, a nice way of saying we have what the Americans call a ‘situation. ‘ ” There was a sudden burst of heat and my breath, which felt as if each rise and fall of my chest were a symphony of pain, told of how afraid I was. Suddenly I had to speak, to shout at her, to ask why she was doing this to me but fear had rendered me incapable of speaking. One of the officers Detective Ramirez, I remembered him from the countless times the media had interviewed him since The Raven’s arrest moved forward, because he was one of the Police officers at the forefront that Apprehended the Raven. He clutched a simple white envelope in his hand for anyone to see, he did not even attempt to conceal the shaking of his hand. ‘This was delivered to the police station this morning,’ he replied, his voice neutrally police-like. “It is written for you, Brianne. ” I looked at the envelope for a long moment, my brain unable to register what was going on. ‘From… From him?’ I was barely even able to whisper, and my throat felt as parched as if I’d been rolling in the sand. Detective Ramirez nodded grimly. “We’ve ascertained that it is from The Raven.” As much as I despise the feeling of faintness, I experienced the room’s clockwise spin from where I sat so vividly that I felt dizzy. It is just as well because having Principal Reeves notice it was not on my list of goals today, she hastened to pour a glass of water and handed it to me. ‘Well, we have checked for any hazardous materials,’ the other police officer chimed in, his tone was rough, but he was not rude. ‘It is clean,’ I told him; ‘we have not broached it. ‘ That is your decision, Brianne . My choice. There has always been something about this situation there which, as far as I know, I have no control over. I had the urge to burst into laughter or shout a protest at the completely illogical situation. But because of the shock, I took a sip of water, in an attempt to quivering hands to calm down. ‘What? What does he want from me?’ I stammered, I was afraid of this man and sounded sickly timid. Detective Ramirez then shook his head. “We have no idea. But you have to mind the fact that he escaped and he… you were part of his capture”. We are taking this seriously. Were you to read it, we would have to record the contents. ” I merely managed to nod my head as the shock paralyzed me at the letter that was in my hands… Even now, it seemed quite innocuous and even unprepossessing, the way it was wrapped up. But I knew better. Taking a stab, I stretched out my hand and grabbed the envelope as it was tendered to me. It was solid, dense and dangerous in my hands, as if it was full of things and events. Better to leave unsaid. For a long moment I kept just holding it and running my finger over the neat, familiar handwriting which on the sheet said “Brianne”. Then, before I could lose my nerve, I ripped it open. The letter inside was a single page, and it was written in the neat cursive style that was utterly beautiful. But the words… These words were toxic to the extreme. It started with: ‘My dearest Brianne,’ and I had to swallow hard to keep the disgust from my voice. I wanted to start with a good wish, so: ‘I hope this letter finds you well’. By now I’m sure you have heard of my little ‘prank’ at the theater the other night. Indeed, liberty is the way I’d prefer to go. It has provided me with the opportunity for me to think about us, about the connection we have. It goes without saying; the bond of blood is stronger than the bond of water, as the proverb goes. Or in our case, perhaps I should say blood is thicker than water they have washed your brain with. That’s why I wanted you to hear from me that I don’t hold you any responsibility for that, or anything that occurred along the line. You have been so lost, and acted like an idiot to people who know nothing about you. Yes, the past is gone, but there is something you have got to do now; you have got to wake up to who you really are. Of course, the comment that you are ‘more like me than you know, Brianne’ is actually quite profound. And it is always, in the very heart of who you are, darkness, energy. These things never go away, you know; you can pretend they are not there and run away from them, but they never go away. Since my leaving that aforesaid delightful and fanciful establishment I’ve not had time to rest. The Phoenix Organization never sleeps, not even when its head is… indisposed. Preparations have been made, in essence, consolidating and building up. And so, sweetheart, it is high time to proceed to the next level.

I am giving this as a friendly reminder. There are strings I have pulled which no man will be able to turn around in your world. You, Chase, your adorable idiot, and that interfering Alessandro… your days of being a damsel are numbered. Watch closely, Brianne. Every shade could arise from one of my people. Each smiling man and woman could be the identity of one of my faithful companions. This is the end for you, unless you do this. Love yourself, be confident about who you are. Come with me, we could control and dominate an empire. Apart… well, I believe you understand what is happening to those willing to oppose me. Choose wisely. “With love,

The Raven” Thus, I put the paper down and my hands trembled as I laid my hands on the table: the sound reverberated in the calm of the office. I had never known such hate and bitterness with the creamy brown vomit rising in my throat as The Raven’s words curled themselves around my heart like vipers. ‘Brianne?’ It sounded as if from a distance: ‘Brianne,’ repeated Principal Reeves. “Are you alright?” I looked at him, not able to say anything because of my disbelief. Well, how could I be alright? What happened to my lucky day? How could I ever be in a position that would be alright again? ‘Okay. ‘ Detective Ramirez slowly took the letter from my hands, reading its contents quite intently. Brows furrowed, the color growing paler on his face, every word that came across his line made his jaws tighten. ‘This is a direct threat’ he said, staring at his partner. ‘We have to raise the security level as soon as possible and let Agent Haris and the rest of the team know”. ‘ It was never clear which way the officers looked at each other, but they did. ‘Brianne,’ Detective Ramirez said softly, ‘it is not about you anymore, The Raven is endangering Chase and Alessandro. ‘ ‘You don’t get it,’ I said, practically stammering. ‘If you report it to them, if you make it formal, He will realize it was me. He will… he will do something worse. Please… just… give me some time. ‘ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Ms. Reeves, the principal, tilted forward and put on a serious expression on her face. ‘Brianne, I understand you are afraid, but we cannot turn a blind eye to this matter. ‘ You are our priority your security is our security. ‘ I shut my eyes and tried hard to use others faculties to get out of the mental cage that fear had put me in. That was also true, or our predecessors would not have produced such systematic literature. This was more than about me, but the idea of bringing Chase and Alessandro into this mess, into a position of having people on their backs… it was unbearable. “One day,” I murmured after some seconds, long enough for Ramirez to bring my attention back to him. ‘Just allow me one day to tell them myself’, she pleaded, ‘they have the right to hear it from me and not a police report’. The three officers were having their quiet discussion as they were looking at the car, and they were using the kind of gestures that are reserved for partners with whom one has served for many years. Finally, Detective Ramirez nodded. “Twenty-four hours,” he said firmly. ‘But we will be enhancing patrols around the school and your homes right now. And to you Brianne: do not try to confront your father alone He is deadly, even more than before’. I just quickly bobbed my head, probably with some kind of empty reassurance. I already understood that if necessary, I would lay down my life for my friends and thus meeting my father all alone did not frighten me. The remaining part of the meeting was filled with safety measures and directions that could be strictly followed. I gave all the signals of a good listener, said ‘yes’ in all the appropriate places, told the officers that I would be checking in frequently and that anything that looked suspicious would be reported. But inside I was doing a thousand somersaults, trying to put together a strategy from the broken fragments of mental order. These fears emerged as I left the office and was immediately assaulted by the sensation of sound and motion. Coming to the corridor, I found myself in the middle of packed students studying and chattering noisily, mocking each other as they changed classes. For a moment there, I just couldn’t move, I was stupefied by the general ‘ordinance’ of the situation. And how could the world just continue as if it did not know that it was sitting on the precipice of demise?