As Stavo reminisced on a time when Lulu wasn’t so ugly to him, he watched the blonde waitress behind Lulu’s head showcase a bottle of wine to a table of businessmen. He was tantalized by her tan, slim legs. She had on a black a-line skirt that flared at the bottom, emphasizing her bony hips. If Lulu would just turn her fat head 30 degrees to the left, I could see her…

“Are you listening to me at all, Stavo?” Lulu asked as she wiggled her fork.

It wasn’t that Lulu was fat or even slightly unattractive, Stavo just lost interest in his wife among most things since returning. Stavo nodded to Lulu and recited everything she spewed in exact detail, from her hair appointment that went wrong to her brunch with her vexatious sister. His 145 IQ never failed him with interrogations.

Stavo tried to block the vibrations of Lulu’s voice and focus again on the blonde waitress. She spun on one heel and made her way towards their table. She was carrying a tray of empty glasses that looked perhaps too heavy for her frail, deer-like frame. As she came within feet of Stavo, a man in a navy blue suit ran into her and she dropped the tray. Glass shattered on the black and white marble floor causing a scene.

“Oh my,” the waitress said as she went on her knees.

Stavo stood from his chair and knelt beside her and the man.

“Careful,” Stavo said as he helped pick up larger chunks of glass. “You don’t want to hurt yourself.”

The mute man suddenly dropped a folded napkin discreetly at Stavo’s feet. Stavo cocked an eyebrow and the man exchanged confirmation through his glossy brown eyes. As more employees came to help clean up the mess, Stavo inconspicuously took the napkin and placed it in his jacket pocket.

“I think we got it from here,” the man nudged him away. “Thank you.”

Stavo bobbed his head and returned to his dinner with Lulu. He sat down, avoiding eye contact with her as he threw back his Scotch and soda.

“I’m going to have a smoke,” he told Lulu.

Before Lulu could remark, he swiftly made his way out of the restaurant. Avoiding the valet, Stavo pulled out a Dunhill and held it between his teeth as he took out the napkin. He unfolded it and found it to be a crunched-up receipt. He unwrinkled it and discovered a message written in bold black ink stating, get out of the city while you still can.

Before Stavo could shove the message back into his jacket, his phone began buzzing. Suddenly, an eerie ping rang from the phone for an emergency alert. The valet in front of him pulled out his phone which was making the same noise. People leaving the restaurant had their earsplitting phones in their hands, questioning the meaning of the alert. Stavo quickly pulled his phone out and the message looped repeating, we know you are hiding here.

As soon as he realized everyone simultaneously received the message, he rushed to his car to drive home, leaving Lulu behind. He drove casually, though he wanted to speed through each red light. He kept his face straight and his fixation forward. Once he pulled into his parking garage, he took out a loaded pistol from his car’s center console. He slipped it into his back pocket and crept up through the apartment building. He snuck through the lobby, avoided the elevator, and climbed the twelve flights of stairs to his apartment.              

After inspecting every room of his suite, he turned on the television. It began blaring the same maddening alert with the looping message splattered across the screen. Once Stavo began to make his way to his bedroom, the TV was interrupted by the Emergency Broadcast anchor. The deep computerized voice began announcing, “Please remain calm and stay indoors…”

Suddenly, the power cut. Piercing silence fell over the city for just a few seconds, but it felt like minutes. Stavo’s miraculous IQ began to fail him as he waited for the next move in the situation, unable to think of his succeeding action. When police sirens echoed in the distance, a scream from outside the building curdled his hearing. One scream turned into a wave of deafening panic as gunshots began firing outside. Suddenly, the sound of helicopters circulating downtown overpowered the mayhem.

Stavo drew his gun and began closing all the blinds, making sure to avoid looking at the chaos that was beginning outside. It’s happening, Stavo’s mind echoed, it’s happening again.

“Private,” a man softly said behind him.

Stavo spun around wielding his gun drastically, as if he forgot how to use it after all this time. When he saw Foss, he lowered his gun and felt a groundswell of relief. Stavo hadn’t seen him since his fourth combat deployment. 

“Captain Foss,” Stavo huffed. “What, what, what are you doing here? What is all this?”

“Private, we need you to come with us immediately.”

Stavo stared at Foss with a blank expression as his mind flickered with thoughts of their captors’ faces and the nine months they spent together as prisoners. I can’t go back, I can’t do this again.

“We have a helicopter circling outside. We need to get on the roof and we need to go now. The city is under attack, Private. They’ve come to take prisoners.”

Stavo deeply inhaled and nodded his head with his exhale. He followed Foss out his front door and up a side set of stairs to the rooftop. When he reached the top, fellow Marines were on the roof waving for the two to hurry on the helicopter.

The strong winds from the helicopter hovering above them made it hard for Stavo to move his already shaky legs. Foss turned around, yelling at him to pick up his pace. The commotion of the helicopter and Marines shouting drowned out the turmoil of sirens, gunshots, and screaming that was happening below them.

The helicopter dropped a rope ladder and Foss climbed up with assistance. Foss spun around from above, waving for Stavo to quickly jump and climb aboard.

Abruptly, Lulu’s voice shouted from behind, “Stavo! Stop!”

Stavo spun around, holding his hair from flying in his eyes. She was standing by the door of the roof with tears rushing down her face. She began pleading for him to come over by her.

“We’re under attack, Lulu!” Stavo yelled.

Lulu rushed closer, making sure to not get too close.

“Stavo, please stop,” she pleaded.

“Don’t you see we have to go right now? Foss came to get me. Come with us, you will be safe.”

Lulu placed her head in her hands for a brief moment before looking up. She shook her head as she cried, “Foss is dead, Stavo.”

Silence and stillness washed over Stavo.

Lulu reached out her hand, “Foss was killed when you were held prisoners months ago.”