In the six remaining days before our mission, Daniel and I train as hard as we can. Between exercising, running, and perfecting our weaponry skills, I feel confident in our abilities. I also feel considerably better about the bi-polar relationship between Daniel and I.

Daniel and I finally reached the "friend" zone, or where our bickering is more fun than frustrating. But sometimes a snide or two comment can be too rude. A few day after Vivian's prank, Daniel and I actually hung out after training. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I even sat with all of Daniel's guy friends at lunch. That was a battle and an adventure in itself.

All of his friends teased me lightly, but I teased back, sarcastically scolding Daniel when he commanded his friends to shut up because I "couldn't handle them." It was a perfect example of a harmless comment gone wrong. Things like that always anger me, but overall, Daniel's decent to be around.

Wow, never though I'd say that.

I'm still not sure how to handle the shock gun incident or the Stockyard incident. I confronted Daniel and somehow managed to make him explain himself for a whole hour, which to anyone is the definition of pure hell. He owed me that, and I can sort of understand his perspective. Taylor had him warped, and I guess my Imperial self was too much for him to handle. But still.

I half-forgive Daniel, but I flat-out told him there's no excuse for what he did. It took him a whole month's worth of screaming matches with his dad to make him say the small "I'm sorry." Another thing that annoys me: people who can't accept defeat.

I guess General Fadhill managed to bring Danny back without keeping Daniel around. I don't know; this is all still confusing. All I can do is be friends with Danny, the kind, loving, and sometimes judgemental boy that his father missed.

I still don't understand how I resemble Taylor. Does she really look that much like me? Enough to make me the target of violence? According to my Daniel, the answer is yes.

On the bright side, Daniel does all of my cleaning and cooking shifts as punishment. Now that I'm never going to get tired of.

The only downside to being Daniel's "friend" is that everyone keeps calling him my boyfriend. My mom, my brothers, Vivian, and even General Fadhill himself.

I mean, yeah, Daniel and I mess around a lot and make fun of each other. We've always done that kind of stuff, even when I 100 percent hated his guts instead of the 10 percent I have now.

Two days before launch of the Renegade final mission, the Renegades set up a few workshops to prepare us for the non-violent situations we might encounter. My favorite was the wilderness survival workshop. If something goes wrong on our mission, Daniel and I can live in the forest regions of the Rocky Mountains for a few days or more.

"So what streets are we covering?" I ask Daniel the night before we leave Hawaii for Fort Collins.

Daniel invited me into his apartment to explain more details about the mission. I tuck my feet to the side on the familiar dark sofa, leaning against the comfortable cushions. With the shades drawn and a few lights on, the living room is really cozy.

"Any streets we can," Daniel replies. He rises from his spot next to me and sits cross-legged on the ground near the coffee table. Pulling out the map of Colorado, he shows me where we are getting dropped off. "We're going to spend all of tomorrow's daylight hiking to Fort Collins. Whatever extra time we have we'll spend studying the maps or resting."

"What equipment are we getting?"

"We each get a gun with a few cartridge of bullets, a bow with eight arrows, eight knives, and a backpack filled with flyers."

Daniel looks at me from his position on the ground. "This is the safest mission you'll ever go on. It'll be completely fine. You'll have me to save you if anything bad happens."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, right," I taunt, drawing out my words for extra emphasis.

He laughs. "Darling, if you roll your eyes at me again, they're gonna fall right out of you skull."

"Shut up, Fadhill. Don't make me kick you."

He calls my bluff with a laugh and continues looking at the maps. I spread out on the couch and lay down. The more I think about this mission, the more I wonder why other countries don't help us. They could have preventing the bombing, stopped the government right when the Panel was formed, and saved a lot of lives.

"Daniel, why don't any other nations help us?"

"The ISA owes a lot of money to Europe, but the Europeans want our land instead of our money. The rest of the world won't let them take us because of the Monroe Doctrine, so we're in the middle of a weird stalemate. No one can touch us, not even to stop a corrupt government. So we're doing it ourselves."

"What is Europe?" The word sounds really weird coming our of my mouth. Your-up. Daniel looks at me like I'm crazy. He pulls out another map and thrusts it in my face.

Good ol' "jerk-face" Daniel is back.

I grab the map from between his finger and glare at him. I study the map, and after about a minute, I fold it up and throw it on the coffee table.

"Well, now I know what Europe is."

A sly grin creeps up Daniel's face. "It's about time you know something, sweetheart."

"Says the guy who doesn't know how to fold laundry." I roll my eyes at the ceiling, reminded of all the oddly-folded clothes in my living quarters. "And quit calling me "sweetheart". I'm not your darling or babe or whatever, and I don't want to be."

"I'll never stop calling you "darling", love." Daniel and I continue our back-and-forth banter for a long time before I begin to get tired.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

"What the--" I wake up in an unfamiliar place on an unfamiliar couch with an unfamiliar blanket draped over me. Momentarily confused, I sit up and feel my hand release something. I look down on the ground to see Daniel sleeping with his arm at a strange angle. Was he holding my hand all night?

I think I answered my own question there. Scanning the walls of the room, I find a clock; it's 3:38.

I quietly pull the blanket off me and rise from the sofa, extra careful not to wake Daniel. Just as I reach the door to leave, a crazy idea forms in my head. I silently take off my sneakers and tiptoe across the floor to what I assume to be Daniel's bedroom.

Stepping inside the room, I close the door behind me and turn on the light. Quickly scanning the room, I see nothing unusual. Darn, I was hoping that I could find something to use against him. I slip out of the apartment without stirring awake Daniel. Heading back to my apartment, I shower and cuddle within my own bedsheets.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

I wake up the next day to Daniel nudging me to get up. "Gettup, gettup, gettup," he repeats annoyingly, his voice acending in volume.

"Shut up," I groan at him and roll out of bed. I stumble into the bathroom to do my morning routine, and Daniel throws a bundle of clothes at me. Black v-neck shirt, dark pants, dark sneaker, and a navy belt: it's perfect for a nighttime mission. I tie my hair into a loose ponytail, looking in the mirror. What I see is ordinary me, nothing special except a small stroke of natural beauty. I sigh, and Daniel pounds loudly on the door.

"Alright, alright, I'm done!' I yell as I exit the bathroom. I whip the door open, hoping to hit Daniel with it. He steps out of the way just in time with a smirk on his face.

"Then let's go," he says, allowing me to exit my apartment by opening the door. "How do you have a key to my room?" I ask.

"It's a perk to being your trainer, babe."

We continue arguing back and forth until we reach the cafeteria. After a quick meal with my family and lots of "I love you's" an "stay safe's", we make a pact to meet back in Mom's room when we can. If I get stuck in the States for more than three days after June 22nd, we'll meet at our old house because all Renegades will be celebrating their success in the captiol.

After breakfast, an announcement is made by General Fadhill for everyone to resume their positions. I hug all my sibling goodbye, and Daniel comes to my table to collect me. Waving to Mom, Daniel and I follow the flood of Alliancers to the grassy area behind the training center. Tons of weaponry await the Alliancers, available for use.

Daniel and I step in line, which moves quickly, and we are soon at the front. The first person hands me a vest loaded with knives. I strap it on, and collect a gun, a backpack, a sheath of arrows, and a smooth bow. The bow is my favorite, mostly because it's the quietest and most efficient.

After I collect all my stuff, I step to the side and sort through everything. The pack contains a bottle of water, iodine tablets for purification, and a lot of neon fliers. I tighten my vest, hook my gun holster onto my belt, and swing the sheath of arrows over my back. This mission is finally starting to feel like reality.

Once Daniel and I are fully armed, we follow the pack of Alliancers heading for the helicopters spread out across the field farther away from the training building. I follow Daniel onto helicopter number 5, and the pilot my first helicopter ride greets Daniel.

We both climb into the helicopter can, all of the seats and most of the floor filled. Just barely enough room for Daniel and I remains on the floor, so I carefully step around people and sit down. Once I'm settled into a comfortable position, I catch a snippet of the short conversation Daniel has with the pilot."

"--finally managed to seduce her, eh?"

"I've got my ways, man."

I roll my eyes and remind myself I'm loaded with weapons and an unlimited amount of methods to kill Daniel. We're barely friends. That's all. That's it.

Daniel's blond head turns and takes a seat on the floor next to me. He sits casually, and after a minute, he notices me staring at him with my "what the hell is wrong with you" look.

"What?" he hisses, glancing at the pilot.

"Seriously?" I ask, and I pull a knife out of my vest. I run my fingers softly along its blade. "You have no idea how tempted I am to use this."

He makes a grab for my knife, and I pull it out of the way just in time.

"Uh-uh-uh. Manners, Daniel--" I start, but he cuts me off.

"Ashley, you'll never be strong enough to take me out. You're just embarrassing yourself."

The comment hits me in the gut like a sharp stab wound. Without even thinking, my anti-Renegade instincts take over my body. I throw all of my weight onto Daniel and swing my knife at him.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

ooh, kill 'em #puns4lyfe

;)

your welcome for that lovely cliffhanger :) the official renegade flyer is in the media section of this chapter. i made it myself as well as the cover of this book.

because, let's face it, that ship is on a course of instability.

haha, did you catch that pun?

or did it swim away.

lol.