The army was ready.
Fifty soldiers.
Fifty killers.
Fifty people who would die for Lena.
And Christabel had to decide if she could live with that.
---
The warehouse had been transformed.
Not a warehouse anymore. A barracks. A training ground. A fortress.
Bunks lined the walls. Weapons filled the armory. A command center hummed with screens and satellites and the kind of technology that governments would kill for.
Cole stood at the front of the room.
The fifty soldiers stood behind him.
"Mr. Moreau. Mrs. Moreau."
"Cole."
"The team is assembled. Vetted. Trained. Ready."
"Ready for what?"
Cole looked at Damien.
"Ready to die for your family."
---
Christabel walked to the front of the room.
Stood in front of the fifty soldiers.
Men and women. Young and old. Veterans of wars that most people would never know about.
"I'm not going to thank you," she said.
No one spoke.
"I'm not going to welcome you."
Silence.
"I'm going to tell you something."
She looked at each face.
"If anyone tries to hurt my daughter, you will stop them. By any means necessary. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"If anyone tries to hurt my husband, you will stop them. By any means necessary. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"If anyone tries to hurt me, you will stop them. By any means necessary. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She stepped back.
"Then welcome to the family."
---
That night, Christabel put Lena to bed.
Not Damien. Her.
She read her daughter a story. Not a baby book. A real story. One of her favorites.
"There was a woman who built an army," she read. "Not because she wanted power. Because she wanted peace."
Lena stared at her.
"Bah," she said.
"That's right," Christabel said. "Bah."
---
Damien was in the doorway.
"She said it again."
"She said it to me."
"She said it to both of us."
She closed the book.
Set it on the nightstand.
"She's going to be protected."
"She's going to be just like you."
"God help the world."
"God help anyone who tries to hurt her."
---
They stood over the crib together.
Lena was asleep. Her tiny chest rose and fell.
"Fifty soldiers," Christabel said.
"Fifty."
"It's not enough."
"It's a start."
"What happens when they fail?"
"They won't."
"They're human."
"So are we."
---
The next morning, Christabel went to the garden.
The rose was still blooming.
She knelt beside it.
"Fifty soldiers," she whispered.
The rose swayed.
"Fifty people who would die for Lena."
She touched the petals.
"I don't know how to feel about that."
---
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"She's awake," he said.
"Lena?"
"Yes."
"I'll be right there."
He walked to her.
Took her hand.
"How are you feeling?"
"Heavy."
"That's new."
"It is."
"What changed?"
She looked at the rose.
"I realized that I'm responsible for fifty lives now. Not just Lena's. Theirs too."
---
Lena was in the nursery.
Awake. Alert.
Christabel lifted her from the crib.
Held her against her chest.
"Good morning, little one," she said.
Lena cooed.
"There are fifty people whose job is to keep you safe. Fifty people who would die for you."
Lena stared at her.
"I never wanted this. But I'm not going to apologize for it. Because you're worth it."
---
That afternoon, Christabel visited the warehouse.
Alone.
No Damien. No guards. No weapons.
Just her.
The soldiers were training.
Shooting. Fighting. Running drills.
Cole saw her.
Stopped.
"Mrs. Moreau."
"Cole."
"Is everything okay?"
"I need to talk to them."
"All of them?"
"All of them."
---
He gathered the fifty.
They stood in formation.
Christabel walked to the front.
"I'm not going to give you a speech," she said. "I'm not going to tell you that you're heroes. You're not. You're killers. Just like me."
No one spoke.
"I'm going to tell you something. About my daughter."
She pulled out her phone.
Showed them a photograph.
Lena. Smiling. Laughing. Alive.
"This is why you're here. Not for money. Not for power. For her."
She put the phone away.
"She's three months old. She can't walk. She can't talk. She can't protect herself."
She looked at each face.
"That's why I need you."
---
Cole stepped forward.
"We won't let you down."
"I know."
"How do you know?"
"Because if you do, I'll kill you myself."
He smiled.
"Understood."
---
That night, Christabel couldn't sleep.
She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about the soldiers.
The weapons.
The responsibility.
Damien was awake beside her.
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking about what happens next."
"The war?"
"The war."
"Are you ready?"
"I have to be."
---
He pulled her into his arms.
"We're not alone anymore."
"I know."
"We have an army."
"I know."
"We have each other."
She looked at him.
"I know."
---
The next morning, Christabel went back to the warehouse.
The soldiers were waiting.
"Today," she said, "we train together."
"For what?"
"For the war that's coming."