Chapter Twenty Eight —
Glory and Gore

Rosa's heart was hammering in her chest, her pace quick as she made her way towards the church.

She was holding a talk with the Guard, which was Glenn's idea. After sharing with her that Jason and Clark were planning to break way from Allie, Rosa decided that it would be a good idea to try and get the Guard on her side.

Gordie had informed her that, from the quick poll they took when people were leaving the debate, the election was going in Lexie's favour. Rosa was certain that Campbell wouldn't bow out, knowing he must have something up his sleeve. Allie, on the other hand, had already accepted that she wasn't going to win, meaning it was up to Rosa to initiate their plan.

"Hey."

Rosa snapped her attention to her left, catching sight of Harry heading down the steps towards her. "Oh, hey," she greeted, slowing to a stop. Her pulse continued racing, sending her mind a little dizzy, having not prepared herself to see Harry already. "Uh, you did good today."

"Thanks," Harry replied, shoving his hands in his pockets as he moved closer towards her. "Not sure it was enough."

"Yeah, I don't think anybody was expecting Lexie to turn up."

"Yeah." Harry struggled to meet her eyes, glancing around their surroundings sheepishly. Rosa looked down at the ground for a moment, feeling awkward as she recalled the way their previous conversation had been left.

Rosa had pushed away any betrayal she felt from his decision to side with Campbell over her, knowing it wasn't entirely Harry's fault that Campbell had been able to manipulate him. She couldn't deny the fact, though, that Harry did want power, he had done since the beginning, and she knew she still had to be wary of him.

"Look, I'm, uh, I'm really sorry about yesterday."

"It's fine–"

"No, no, it's not." Harry shook his head. "You were looking out for me, and I appreciate that."

Rosa lifted her gaze to meet his eyes, surprised by the sincerity they held. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Harry," she settled on, meaning her words genuinely.

"Are you heading over to Allie's?" He asked.

"No," Rosa answered. "Allie and I...we had a disagreement, sort of."

Harry could not hide the interest on his expression, and Rosa noticed, deciding to play on it further. She didn't particularly enjoy using Harry this way, but she had to gain his trust again.

"Oh."

"Yeah, things are kinda falling apart," Rosa said. "I've realised a lot of things. I think the Guard have too. We're holding a sort of meeting."

"Yeah, we're talking to Clark later," Harry let slip. Rosa's eyebrows raised. "Campbell has a plan."

"I assumed he would." A faint smile crossed Harry's lips. "So, this plan..."

"I can't say much," Harry dismissed, though he seemed hesitant, as if he wanted to spill everything. "It's just a precaution. Lexie becoming mayor would be a nightmare, so..."

"It would," Rosa agreed. "Listen, I'm not Campbell's biggest fan, but I care about the future of this place. If you need my help, just let me know."

"I will," Harry assured with a nod. "Good luck with your meeting."

Rosa gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Well, that was easy enough.

They left in opposite directions. Rosa released a heavy breath she hadn't realised she was holding. She'd never had to tell so many lies at once, never mind keep one going for a long period of time. Rosa was beginning to regret agreeing to this, and resent Allie for even asking her.

When she reached the hall, the Guard weren't there, late as usual, giving her a few minutes to prepare until they came.

When they did eventually turn up, she took her place at the front of the room, whilst they sprawled out in the rows.

Rosa's hands shook by her sides. Her eyes drifted over each of the teenage boys in turn, most of them looking bored, picking the skin around their fingernails, or eyes wandering around the room in disinterest.

But Rosa was about to deliver the speech of her life, and she sure as hell was going to command that their attention was solely on her.

With one final deep breath, she placed her palms flat down against the wooden podium. "I'm not going to stand here and tell you that Allie didn't ask me to do this," Rosa began, her voice capturing the attention of the boys, each of them looking up at her. "But I'm also not going to stand here and be a different person, and go against what I believe in, to fit an agenda I was given. The truth is, Allie asked me to talk to you because she wants you to remain on her side. Because without you, she doesn't have enough power."

Clark straightened up, catching Rosa's eyes. She held her stare firmly, determined not to be caught out for her lies. Rosa hated feeding the narrative that Allie was some sort of dictator, but she no longer had a choice.

"I won't lie to you, I'm supposed to be convincing you to stay loyal to her. But that's not what I'm gonna do. I'm not gonna do that because I think we can all make this town a better place."

Rosa took another breath, preparing herself to calmly recall the words she had written down and worked hard on remembering all day. They had to be convinced by this.

"It's time we regain some control back over our own lives. It's time we start living again– because under Allie's rule, we don't get enough chance to do that, to be ourselves, to be teenagers. Life should be about more than just surviving." Rosa paused for a moment as Jason and Clark began to sit upright, leaning forwards slightly. She knew that she had captured their interest, that they were on a similar wavelengths to the words she was speaking out.

"I'm not gonna to tell you that everything we've been building here can just be abandoned the way that Harry or Lexie promised you," she continued, meeting Glenn's eyes momentarily. He nodded along in assurance. "We have to be realistic. This place still requires work, our hard work. And I know that's not what you want to hear, you want to hear what Harry's telling you, that he'll abolish the rules of Allie's that we all hate. And the thing is, if Allie wins mayor, she is going to put this town first before our needs. You will lose any and all ounce of control over your lives. I mean, you already feel like that right? She stopped Luke from running for mayor."

Jason glanced around him. "Where even is Luke?"

Rosa ignored his question, continuing. "I know from first hand experience, because she's been using me and my talks to try and get people back on her side. But, not anymore. You're just the garbage men to her, and I'm just the girl who trusts too much."

Clark scoffed, shaking his head as he looked over at the others. "She's right. We are the fucking garbage men."

Rosa bit down on her tongue, every fibre of her body desperate to retaliate against Clark's words, but she had to swallow that. They were convinced by her speech, and that was exactly what she needed.

"I'm not standing here because Allie asked me to. I'm standing here because I'm done with this, I'm tired of it, and I know all of you are too. Allie cares more about her rules than the people she's enforcing them on. I know that we can keep this town running, we can keep surviving, but, without Allie making our every decision for us, we can have our lives back."

Rosa exhaled shakily as she finished, instantly finding Glenn's eyes. He gave her a subtle nod, impressed with her speech, but she knew he was still unconvinced. Rosa was aware of Glenn's reservations about the plan, but she figured, alongside him, that Luke was going to be the toughest to convince.

All of a sudden, both Clark and Jason rose to their feet, hollering cheers of support and applause. "Yeah, Rosa!" Jason shouted out, punching the air with his fist. Rosa forced a smile onto her face, tearing her eyes away from Glenn as she faked a grin over at the others.

She hated every single second of what she had just done, but Rosa had to be realistic. People were no longer on Allie's side, she was going to lose, and Lexie was potentially going to win the election unless Harry and Campbell managed to figure something out. And something told her that, somehow, they would; whether they were going to win fairly, or they were going to rig it, Campbell always had a plan up his sleeve, and Rosa was now ready for it.

She was certain that Harry wasn't lying about the plan to get the Guard on side. So if she managed to tarnish Allie's campaign first, it might give her a chance to be in with Harry and Campbell, and maybe, just maybe, Campbell might actually trust her enough for her plan to work.

"So what now?" Glenn asked, moving to his feet, his eyes drifting from Rosa towards his friends.

"We said we'd talk to Campbell after this," Jason reminded, nudging Clark's arm. "Remember?"

"Right," Clark said, recalling. "Yeah, we should see what he has to say. You know, hear different views and that." He faced Rosa. "Great speech, though, Ro."

"Yeah, glad you're on our side," Jason nodded.

Rosa forced herself not to cringe at the thought. She hadn't fully believed Glenn when he said how extreme Jason and Clark had become, but she was now starting to realise the extent of it.

Nonetheless, she left the town hall satisfied that her speech had been a success, and she'd done the job intended.

Glenn had promised to keep her in the loop for the meeting with Campbell, so, before she returned home, Rosa headed to Allie's to inform her on what was going on.

"I knew I'd lost them," Allie stated, leaning back against the kitchen counter. "They wanted to run for council."

"You were right to tell them no," Will reassured her. He glanced over at Rosa. "So what happens now?"

"I think they believe me," Rosa replied. "They were convinced by what I said. Now they've gone to Campbell," she informed them. "Harry told me they were going to try and strike a deal with them."

"Harry told you?" Will asked.

"Yeah."

"Harry trusts Rosa," Allie said. "That's why I asked her to do this."

"So Campbell's gonna get the guard on their side?" Will questioned.

"It makes sense," Rosa realised. "If he has them, he has the power."

She glanced apologetically at Allie, who shook her head. "I know I'm going to lose the election," Allie told her. "The only problem is who to."

"Lexie," Rosa understood. "I don't know how to put this but...I don't know, I just have a feeling Campbell's got something up his sleeve."

"Me too," Allie agreed. "He won't go down without a fight."

Rosa's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out in front of her, the screen lighting up with a notification from Glenn, asking her to meet them at Jason's.

"That's Glenn," she announced, looking up at Allie and Will. "They want to see me."

"So, Glenn's in on this?" Will asked, a hint of disapproval in his tone.

"You can trust him," Rosa assured. "I'm not sure I can pull this off without him."

"He works for the Guard, he has inside information," Allie reaffirmed, turning to Will. "This is gonna work."

"I think this the last time we'll be able to meet," Rosa said, sliding her phone back into her pocket. "It's gonna look suspicious otherwise."

Allie chewed on her bottom lip. "You sure you can take it from here?"

Rosa wasn't, but she still tried to save face, straightening her posture as she nodded her head confidently. "Yeah. I can do this."

"Thank you, Rosa," Will said genuinely. "It means a lot."

Rosa's expression hardened in determination. "This has to work."

It had to. She was in too deep now. There was no turning back.

"It will," Allie assured.

"Whatever happens..." Rosa started.

"I know," Allie said quietly. "Do whatever it takes. I know I'm gonna lose this election, but we can take back control with you on the inside. It'll take time. But do whatever you have to do."

They parted on stern but good terms, both sides assured that they were working towards the same end goal.

Rosa desperately tried to swallow any nerves she had, realising that it wasn't entirely difficult to put on a fake appearance of confidence. She'd seemed to nail that within the past few hours, so was certain it would work again as she entered Jason's house.

Glenn and Luke sat the furthest away in the room, both of them seeming apprehensive about whatever had been discussed. Rosa tore her gaze away from them, knowing the moment her eyes met Glenn's that her strong stance would weaken.

"Hey," she greeted, stepping into the middle of the room.

Campbell leaned nonchalantly against the wall, his eyes dancing with amusement, and his mouth teasing into a smirk. "Rosa. Glad you could join us."

Her gaze flickered up towards Harry, who was already watching her. "What's going on?" She asked them. "Glenn said you wanted to speak to me."

Before Harry could respond, Campbell moved away from the wall, inching closer towards her. "We heard about your speech," he started, arching his brows. "Interesting words."

The smugness etched on his expression made Rosa want to recoil backwards, but she stood firm. "Well, you know me." She dared a brief glance in Harry's direction. "Passionate about what I believe in."

"Right." Campbell nodded his head slowly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, these guys speak highly of you." He gestured around the room. "They seem to trust you. I was wondering if I can too."

"I know me and you haven't always seen eye to eye," Rosa began, knowing that was a complete understatement. "I only barged in the other day, because I was trying to look out for Harry. But I know that change needs to be made around here."

Rosa knew that Campbell had his doubts, and that he would naturally be questioning her true intentions. But no matter what, Campbell knew that Rosa had weaknesses that he could manipulate. Ultimately, Rosa Perez was going to be very useful to him.

"I know you want to win," Rosa continued. "But you should know that Lexie is going to get the most votes."

"How do you know?" Jason asked from the corner of the room, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Gordie did a poll after the debate," Rosa informed them. "Asked people on their way out. Lexie was winning by a landslide."

"We have a plan," Campbell stated, indicating towards Harry.

Rosa suppressed an eye roll, knowing full well that there was no 'we' involved in that plan. It was all Campbell.

"A coup," Clark spoke up eagerly. Rosa caught the exasperated look that crossed Campbell's face at the interruption.

"It's coup," Luke pointed out.

Clark turned his head around to face him. "Dude, that's what I said."

"No, you pronounced it 'koo'. The P is silent," Glenn corrected him.

Clark shrugged. "Whatever, man."

"So, you're gonna take power?" Rosa asked, looking back at Campbell.

"Before we tell you this plan," Campbell began, tilting his head to the side. "We need to know you're in on this."

Rosa shared a brief glance with Harry, ignoring the feeling of Glenn's stare boring into her from the distance.

"That means there's no turning back from this," Campbell carries on, his stare lingering pointedly on her. Rosa snapped her gaze back towards him. "You're either all in or you're out."

All eyes in the room fell on Rosa as she took a moment longer to reply, recognising that this was her final chance to back out. "Okay," she finally said, her eyes drifting between Campbell and Harry. "I'm in. All in."

A/N

Disaster incoming.