17. Aaron

My life had become chaotic since Carter sent me the video.

I didn't hate Carter, I couldn't hate him, I just didn't know how to talk to him and how to get on with my life.

I wouldn't even be able to concentrate on my work, if it weren't for Bill I wouldn't have made enough money to pay the rent and buy some food.

I shook my head as my mind focused on Carter's body being naked.

How many times had I watched the video during the week? How many times had I felt the pleasure at the thought that I could touch his naked body? How many times had I promised myself to delete the video?

I was fed up with myself, Carter had awakened a lust in me that I didn't know I had and it reached a point that I couldn't control.

I couldn't face him at school, I didn't even know how to look at him, looking at his face I could only imagine his naked body over and over again.

I stared at the screen thinking I could play the video again that night. I got fed up with myself and put my hand out to delete the video.

I couldn't do it, my mind was weak when it came to Carter and his stupid sensuality, it was as if losing that video, my life returned to an empty sense without love or hope, only with the need to get money for the next day.

I cursed to myself and turned off the screen.

I stood up and left the workshop, I had to find a way to end the lust I felt for Carter and for that I needed to occupy my time in something that would consume all my energies.

At least I had Bill to do the work in the shop.

I remembered my time in District 11, I had done things I wasn't proud of in order to survive. But at least during that time I was able to learn things I could bring back.

I walked towards Glen's apartments and entered through the lower entrance. No one paid attention to see me, no one wanted to know anyone and that helped me concentrate.

I followed my course until I reached the third floor and that led me to room 313. I knocked three times, remembering the secret code I had with Glen. I hoped he wasn't there, that would help me get back to my apartment and be able to continue playing Carter's video. To my bad luck, Glen opened the door a few seconds later.

"Aaron" Glen said with a smile as he opened the door.

It was there to quench my lust, there was no turning back and that threw me off. I wasn't one of those people who was looking to hang out on an adventurous night out, however, that night, I was willing to take the risk.

"I'll pick up where we left off" I said trying to force a smile.

"It's good to have you back on the team, although you know you shouldn't feel obligated to do it" Glen said with some concern in his eyes.

"It's something I need to do, at least for tonight" I replied.

Glen nodded and then opened the door, revealing a group of people standing around a table with a map of the city on it.

I swallowed a little saliva thinking that everything would be fine.

"Aaron is back" Glen said encouragingly dropping me into a cruel reality as the men began to clap encouragingly.

The Blue Canaries, a small group of terrorists who acted under the law to help the less fortunate.

"What is it this time?" I asked walking over to where the map was.

"Oh, Aaron" Said one of the men, " we have located an illegal entry of supplies at entrance nine, apparently the group belongs to the blue pandas."

"I thought they were already wiped out" I said, remembering how years ago we had infiltrated their headquarters and erased every last trace of them.

They shook their heads.

"You don't know because you didn't come" Said Glen, "after you left, there started to be activity in the 11th district that began to make it suspicious, several people disappearing day after day as well as new people suddenly moving freely."

"I'm sorry to hear that" I lied.

I didn't regret leaving the group, one day, after I dismantled one gang, I knew there would be another that would take its place and the system would never end. We were just amateurs trying to do the right thing, but the city would never change until it stopped being corrupt.

I thought I could do more for the city by working in my shop, helping to fix simple problems, like repairing refrigerators or helping stupid stalkers whose sliders suddenly broke down in the middle of the road.

The men filled me in on the plan, a truck passing by in the middle of the night and pulling up to a bar with suspiciously illegal activities, where they were unloading supplies from the 11th district.

My mind shut down as we got into Glen's trailer.

The trailer took off and I began to feel uneasy as my mind flashed back to the Carter video. I cursed myself, I had to get his sensual body out of my mind.

"Take this" Said one of my companions passing me a pair of dark biker glasses that must have hidden half of my face.

I placed my goggles on my head as I readied my weapon for any eventuality.

The time was long, longer than I thought, longer than I had anticipated, but at least my colleagues were updating me on the various activities they had solved without me. Something I could not envy.

"Will you come back? one of them asked with some concern on his face.

"For now" I replied, "I need to blow off some steam".

They didn't say anything, they didn't have to. We were all volunteers and nothing forced us to stay.

"The district would suffer if you died with us" Said one of them after a long time.

"I didn't die last time, I didn't have to die that day either" I thought after a long time.

It's as if he had told me that it was good to have left them, that it was better for me to work in my workshop. But if I was in my workshop, I could only watch Carter's face coming back to my mind. I had to be with them to waste my time, to feel the adrenaline take over my dirty mind.

Glen descended his caravan to a building near where the supplies were to be delivered.

We would get out of the caravan and start watching the building from a safe distance.

My mind wandered as we waited for the caravan.

I sat on the edge of the building while I played with my weapons waiting for the moment to attack. The lights of the city were fading as the cold of the night began to threaten the place.

It was a time of silence and calm, that was not enough to control my frustration. It was then when a white van arrived, closed with several crates in the back.

Two men with guns in their hands got out of the front of the van, ready to protect their merchandise. From the back entrance of the bar, several armed people came out shortly after the van had arrived.

I put on my glasses and waited for Glen to give the signal.

"That's the stuff" Glen said from behind his binoculars.

I didn't wait for another signal, I didn't even want to wait for orders or follow the plan I had laid out.

I jumped off the building and used the boosters I had in my sneakers to reach the other building.

When I descended, as soon as the men saw me, they began to raise their guns to shoot me.

A smile came across my face as I raised my hands and shot at the heads of those subjects without giving them a chance for a breath of life.

The other men didn't give any warning sign, they started shooting at me without even aiming.

"Fucking idiots" I thought, as I ran towards the van to protect myself from their gunfire.

My companions began firing in my defense, causing a crossfire to form in both directions.

The shooting towards me had stopped as I heard bodies falling a few meters away from me.

"Listen Aaron, stay where you are" I heard Glen's voice through my microphone.

I turned off the microphone, I could not afford distractions to what I was coming to do.

I knew it was time to act before anyone told me to, when my feet started to wobble in search of action.

I moved to the right side of the van and observed five men firing in the direction of Glen and company. I fired rapidly, five bullets, five head shots.

My body exploded with excitement.

I started crawling towards the fallen bodies, no one was taking their place, everyone was so focused on surviving that no one had taken the time to cover the area.

I smiled internally when I reached a visible point and used my gun to shoot the remaining men.

In the end it was just me and my stupid smile pretending that I had managed to get rid of my frustration that night, that I had been able to get Carter out of my head.