~June 18th, 1982~

~Cycle 236~

~Moments earlier~

"Well, that was a waste of time." Olivier said as their group walked out of town hall. Henri, Aveline, and the rest sat in for Renee's presentation on their findings. The hundreds who attended the meeting were filing into the park,

Luis bitterly said, "They were trying to pretend like they understand what was going on. Especially Patrice."

"Patrice? Isn't that your old boss?" A member of their group asked. "Who was it?"

"The stalky guy who spoke at the beginning." Luis replied, indignation in his every word.

Henri thought of defending his friend, but he didn't. It'd probably just start an argument between him and Luis. Henri glanced back at town hall, spotting Patrice and Renee walking down the steps.

"I kinda hope they never figure out what's causing this." Henri uttered.

"Really?"

"My life wasn't that great before. Now, I can really enjoy myself." Henri admitted.

A loud bang rang out in the air. Everyone in the park impulsively ducked down. Henri saw that Renee woman drop to the stairs. It was a gunshot.

The people in the park quickly turned to panic. Henri had the gut response to run as well. But then he saw Aveline, pistol already in hand, scanning the surrounding buildings for the location of the gunman.

Another shot rang out. Henri looked over at town hall and saw Patrice and Renee rushing inside the building. Aveline tapped Henri on the shoulder and pointed at an apartment building overlooking the park.

"The sniper is up there. You coming?" Aveline asked.

Luis was quick to pull his own gun out and start in that direction, as were many of Aveline's gang. Between all of them they could really help. Henri drew his pistol and followed.

Aveline's group hurried across the park as everyone else panicked and ran. Another shot rang out, but they didn't pay it any mind. Aveline slowed her steps, counted to herself as she looked up at the shooter's position and said, "The sniper is on the .... Sixth floor."

The group entered the apartment building and came to a locked door to the higher floors, meant only for residents. Aveline quickly beckoned Olivier. From his backpack he slid out a crowbar; something that he grabbed each day before reaching the gunstore. The muscular individual jammed the tip of it into the creases of the door. He prodded at it for a few minutes, wedged open the frame, and the door came open. Aveline led the way as the rest of her group filed in behind her with a surprising amount of efficiency, as if they had done this countless times before.

As they neared the sixth floor, Aveline slowed her steps. They stepped carefully through the hallways when they heard another shot ring out. She was able to quickly pin down which apartment the sniper was in. A quick turn of the doorknob revealed it to be locked, and she beckoned Olivier over again.

He began working on the door with the crowbar. Just as it finally snapped off the hinges, a shot rang out. This time through the door, blowing it open. Olivier tumbled out onto the floor with a wound in his chest, crawling away.

While Henri and everyone else jumped at the sniper turning his sights on them, Aveline was still calm and collected. She tilted her pistol into the doorway and fired off some blind shots at the sniper, and a few more rounds were returned at them. The only way in was being watched closely.

In spite of that Aveline stood, removed her backpack and put it out in front of her like a shield, and charged into the room on her own. There was an exchange of shots, and Henri could hear her grunt loudly before it went silent.

"I got him." Aveline said through labored breaths.

Henri stepped into the apartment and saw Aveline standing over a thin black-haired man beside the window. There was a rifle at his fingertips, and a table stocked with ammunition beside him. Aveline was gripping her side, and he could see blood on her hands.

"Whoa, whoa, are you okay?" Henri asked putting his arm around her and looking at the wound.

"I'll be fine. Either way, it'll be back to normal by tomorrow." Aveline said callously. Though she tried to hide it, her breathing was uneven. It was painful.

"Maybe someone in the community will be able to help you out. We want to at least make sure you make it through the day, right?" Henri said.

Among the community were a few individuals who knew how to treat her. The bullet had embedded itself in her side. In normal circumstances this would be very serious, but after suturing up the wound and giving her medication, they were sure she'd be fine for the remainder of the day. By next cycle, her wounds would be gone.

Aveline and her group reported to Renee what had happened. They discovered that this sniper was a man who had previously started trouble in the community and had been kicked out for it.

"I wish you hadn't killed him. He'll try the same thing on the next cycle." Renee remarked when she heard the news. She had a bloody gash in the side of her head where her ear once was. It seemed some heavy medication was dulling the pain enough for her.

Aveline smirked, "Exactly. He won't remember what happened today, so he'll try the exact same thing tomorrow. We know exactly which apartment he's planning to show up at. Think about how terrified he'll be if we catch him before he even has a chance to act. He'll always be paranoid, never knowing if we already know what he's going to do or not. He'll be too afraid to target the community after that."

"...Would you do that?" Renee asked, cradling the side of her head with her hand.

Aveline nodded, "My group will take care of him. He won't be the first asshole we've had to put in their place."

Renee meekly nodded, "I-I, I appreciate that."

"Sure thing, boss."

~June 18th, 1982~

~Cycle 237~

As usual, Aveline and her group met at the gunstore to gather supplies. Immediately after they headed to a particular apartment surrounding the park across from townhall. The group headed to the sixth floor and waited.

"What's the plan when he shows up?" Henri asked Aveline and the rest of the group. Surprisingly, he seemed to be the only one who wasn't in the know.

"We'll take care of it." Aveline said simply.

Everyone took positions in the hallway, out of sight, while Henri remained near Aveline. He figured they'd disarm him, and maybe threaten him a bit before letting him run off. But when that thin man with a rifle on his back finally reached the sixth floor and began walking down the hallway, he was surprised by what her crew did.

With hardly any hesitation, they popped out from their hiding spots, and fired a few choice shots at his legs. By the time he crumbled to the ground, they had already reached him and wrenched his weapon away.

Tenants of the apartment peered out into the hall and Luis promptly shouted, "Stay inside!"

Olivier and one of the other members of the group grabbed the man under the arms and dragged him down the hallway to the stairway.

"What're they-" Henri began.

"Don't worry." Aveline said calmly. Too calmly. Enough that it was eerie to Henri.

He could hear the man grunting and shouting as he was dragged up the stairwell, each hit on his legs no doubt creating a lot of pain. The group trailed behind up the stairway until they had reached the roof. The roof was covered in gravel, and had a clear view of town hall, the park, and even the planetarium near the coast.

Olivier pinned the man on the roof, holding a foot over his wounded legs while another had a foot on the man's head.

"What's going on!?" The man shouted out painfully as his face was drove in the gravel of the roof. He was helpess.

Aveline reached into her back pocket. Henri's heart quickened when she slipped out a switchblade and approached the man.

She knelt next to the man and ran her knife along the roof near his face. With a cold and calm voice she asked, "You're not going to cause any more trouble for Renee's community again, right?"

"H-How do you know I was-"

Aveline flipped the knife and stabbed it into the sniper's hand. She pinned his hand to the ground. His screams echoed out. Henri didn't even realize he had taken a few steps back at the sight of it.

"Are you going to cause trouble again?" Aveline asked again, this time more rigidly.

"I-I won't! I swear." The man screamed through pained grunts, his hand clenching from the knife that had impaled it.

With one clean motion, Aveline slipped the knife out of his hand, "You see... that wasn't very convincing. What do you all think?"

A murmur of 'no's' passed through Aveline and the rest of her group. She pulled the man's shirt up and placed the tip of the blade to his chest. "Let's make sure you won't."

Aveline scraped the blade across his skin, peeling off the flesh and – Henri couldn't keep watching. He turned away from the rest of the group and headed back towards the stairway. Even as he left the roof, he could still hear the man screaming.

Henri stopped part way down the stairs... He muttered, "How could she do that? How could they all do that..."

In that moment he was debating all sorts of things. He thought of coming to the aid of that man on the roof. Of course, that wouldn't work with the whole gang there. He considered leaving the group. But what about Aveline... How could she...

"Hey babe, are you okay?" He heard a voice come from above him in the stair well. Henri turned and saw Aveline wiping her hand on a cloth and coming down the stairs.

"What was all that?" Henri snapped at her.

"Look... you have to understand."

"Understand what?"

"He'll be fine on the next cycle. Any damage we do will be gone. In the long run, this is for the best. After what we put him through, he'll never trouble anyone again." Aveline explained.

Henri took a breath, "But that's..."

"I know... it's a lot. But if we did any less, he'd still be causing trouble."

"...right." Henri resigned to agree.

Aveline took his hand, "Trust me. Have I been wrong before?"

Henri sighed. Before he had a chance to answer, someone else ran down the stairway. It was Luis, who still had blood on his hand.

"What's wrong?" Aveline asked calmly.

"Uh... We might've messed up." Luis said with a wince.

"Did he pass out?"

"...He's dead. It looked like he had a heart attack or something'." Luis said with a grimace.

"Oh... Well, we'll get him tomorrow. We'll make sure he survives on the next cycle, or he'll just be back at it again." Aveline said.

Luis nodded and headed up the stairs to let everyone else know.

Henri pulled his hand away, "You're going to do it again tomorrow?"

"It's not like we have a choice. He'll shoot at the community again." Aveline began, "...Look, you don't have to be there when we ambush him on the next cycle. It looks like this is still a lot for you."

Still?

"Right..." Henri muttered.

Aveline took his hand again and turned his face to look at hers, "Are we still, okay?"

Henri didn't want to say yes so quickly, but when he looked in those alluring eyes of hers, he put his hand around her waist and said, "Yeah. We're okay."