The Fallout

It was the next morning before there was any indication that something was wrong. A little before 10, there was a knock at Deanna's door, and she opened it to two guys wearing white half masks, one with messy, almost shoulder length blonde hair and the other, also blonde, with short hair.

"Hey, Zack, Luke," Deanna said when she saw them, recognizing them easily by the hair and heights. They'd all been in the same class in school, so she was completely nonchalant, leaning against the door frame and smiling easily at her friends. "What's up?"

Zack sighed, and pushed his mask up, and Luke followed suite. "Max wants to see you. So does Craig. They're worried about your loyalty still, from the... Incident," Zack said, looking uncomfortable. "They sent me to tell you to meet them at the Axis, at 11 o'clock. Wear your mask."

Deanna sighed, and pushed her hand through her messy curls. "Well, I'd say tell them I'll be there, but it's not like I have much of a choice," she said, with a wry laugh. Luke stepped a little closer to Deanna and lowered his voice.

"Be careful, Anna," he whispered quickly. "I heard Craig talking about needing to root out all possible traitors. And even if you're innocent, if they find an excuse to convict you of treason, you're either dead or cast out. But, knowing Craig and Max, you're dead." Luke's brown eyes were earnest, and he quickly hugged her before stepping back out onto the street and pulling his mask back over his face. "Be careful, Anna."

Zack stepped forward as well, giving her a quick one arm hug. "He's right. Be careful when you go there Dea. Watch what you say," he murmured, then let go and stepped back with Luke by his side.

Deanna nodded once to her friends, and shut her door as soon as Zack and Luke turned away. She turned and slid down the door, dropping her head into her hands as soon as she was sitting on the floor. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she whispered, feeling the tears burning behind her eyes. She was so screwed.

She stayed put for almost an hour, leaned against her door with tears streaming silently down her face, before she stood and headed to her room to prepare for this meeting, which could end in her death sentence. She did her makeup quickly, keeping it simple with just foundation and natural looking eye makeup. Deanna dressed, her outfit also simple, just light jeans, a gray tank top, cream cardigan and light colored Vans along with a layered necklace.

The last thing Deanna took from her home before leaving was her mask. Everyone had one, and each one, besides what they called the battle mask, was different. No two masks were identical. They were gifts given to each graduate of the academy, in a simple, light colored wooden box with the graduate's name and class rank engraved over the latch. Hers read, "Deanna Finnigan; 1 / 52". She had graduated top of her class. Luke had been 2, Zack achieved 3, and Austin had taken 4.

Deanna tied her hair up into a ponytail, then slid the mask's band over her head, pulling her hair over the elastic band that held the mask to her face. Once her mask was situated on top of her head, Deanna left her house, turning to lock the door behind her and then slipping the key into her jeans pocket. Deanna took a deep breath, and started walking towards the Axis.

As soon as Deanna was close to the Axis, she affixed her mask over her face. Opening the glass door, she stepped into the lobby, light on her feet as she walked up to the reception desk. "Max and Craig asked for me," she said, voice soft as she spoke to the blonde receptionist, who was wearing all white, and a plain white mask with a snakeskin pattern. Her green eyes scanned Deanna.

"Finnigan?" she asked, to which Deanna nodded once. "Take the elevator. Floor 9."

The Axis was one of the few buildings left which actually had a safe, working elevator. All the rest of the buildings had power, but no other building in what was left of this side of the city was maintained the way that the Axis was, and it's elevators were constantly checked by an assortment of technicians to protect the five leaders.

Deanna had been summoned to meet with two of them. The most violent, and cruel. When Deanna and Mike's relationship had first been discovered, Max and Craig had wanted to execute Deanna. But they had been overruled by Gerard, Frank and Adam. The three, more benign leaders had decided on house arrest. If she left her house, she was to be guarded, however, this had been lifted a week before Deanna had started seeing Mike again. But, if she were caught again, they would be much less lenient.

The elevator ride had been quick, however Deanna's thoughts had been racing fast enough to make it seem like it took an eternity before the doors opened to reveal another lobby. The receptionist sitting at this desk looked almost nothing like the receptionist on the ground floor, except for her all white attire. She had starkly black hair and blue eyes, and her mask was white silk with tiny pearls lining the outer edge and around her eyes. "Miss Finnigan?" she asked, voice bored.

Deanna didn't speak, simply nodded. The receptionist sighed. "Take a seat," she said, nodding towards the white leather chair by the elevator. "I'll let them know you're here." She pressed a button as Deanna turned towards the chair and settled herself into it to wait. Max and Craig weren't known for being the most punctual.

It was almost noon before the door on the opposite side of the room opened, and there stood Max. "Alright, let's get this over with, Deanna," he said, gesturing for her to enter the room.

Craig was sitting in a leather chair by the window, identical to the chair that she had waited in. Max took a seat in the chair beside Craig, leaving nowhere for Deanna except the chair facing the two of them over a glass coffee table.

"Ah, hello, Deanna," Craig said, a smile curving his lips upward. "It's been a while. Three months or so?"

Deanna was stiff in the chair, giving Craig a barely perceptible nod. Craig smiled wider, reveling in her obvious discomfort, and she noted the smirk starting to form on Max's lips. "Now, Deanna. You know why you're here," Max started, watching her closely. "You were caught, almost four months ago, being friendly with someone from the enemy side. You've been under close watch for three months, and although Gerard, Adam and Frank don't have as many suspicions about your loyalties anymore, we," he paused to indicate himself and Craig, "Still do. So, tell us with your complete honesty, sworn on your mask and all you promised to protect and uphold when you were given it, that you are not still cavorting with one of them."

Still stiff, Deanna shot Max a look of pure distaste. She'd never liked him, and now he and Craig were questioning her like this? In the months she'd been under surveillance, she'd given them nothing to be suspicious of, and in the weeks since her freedom was reinstated, she'd been so careful that no one would've been able to detect what she was doing. "I swear on my mask and my vows of fealty that I am not cavorting with one of them. You have my complete loyalty," Deanna said, keeping her voice even and her eyes locked on Max's.

Seeming satisfied for the moment, Max leaned back into his chair. However, the answer didn't seem to have pleased Craig as well as it had Max. "Tell me, Deanna," Craig said, his dark eyes flashing. "Have you seen him since you were discovered?"

At this, Deanna decided to tell a partial truth, and nodded slightly. "My first run when my house arrest was lifted. I was in the field, and I think it was him I saw over their border. But I don't think he saw me, because even under the suspicion it was him, I went to another area and stayed out of sight for a while. This is where my loyalty lies," she said, this time making sure to look Craig in the eyes except for when she had nodded. Craig leaned back, a tiny smirk crossing his lips before he fell back into his poker face.

Max stood, walking around the table before settling himself directly in front of Deanna. "You're lying," he stated.

"No."

Before Deanna even noticed or was able to react, Max struck her hard across the cheek. "Are you sure? Are you sure you aren't lying to protect your own ass? Or are you lying to protect someone else's?" he growled, his green eyes hard and cold as ice.

Deanna shot to her feet, her own expression as equally cold and hard as Max's. Max also stood, and was surprised when Deanna stepped closer to him until they were chest to chest, and the petite girl's expression twisted to one of a rage Max hadn't seen in her before. "You dare hit me, and accuse me of lying? After you not only force me to give up the one man I've ever truly loved, but also ask me to swear on the only things I have left to hold dear? And still, after I swear to you that you have my loyalty, you still accuse me of being a traitor?" she hissed.

Craig was chuckling, still seated. He'd known that Max had planned to push Deanna, however he hadn't been expecting Max to actually strike her the way he had. But the look of shock on Max's face when Deanna had snapped had been too priceless to resist laughing at.

"Deanna, dear," Craig said, and her attention turned to him. He could still see the anger on her face, however the rage slowly drained from her eyes at the sight of Craig's easy smile, only to be replaced by confusion at the same expression on his face. "I believe you. And you know that Max here, even if he didn't believe you, couldn't harm you without any of the rest of the leaders. And we'd have him with a 4-to-1 majority. Max, come back to your seat, and Deanna, you may leave."

And with that, Deanna exited the office, more confused than ever. What had just happened with Craig and Max had perplexed her, and she touched her stinging cheek. Her fingers came away with a bit of blood on them; she hadn't noticed it, but Max had been wearing a ring on the hand he'd backhanded her with.

"Bastard," she muttered as the elevator door shut. Mike was going to flip when he saw what had happened to her face.