text: Dundalk is much the same as any other prison. It's dark, it's miserable. You get to talk to a few of the other IRA prisoners, but knowing how dangerous prison time can be since their stay in Frongoch, the Free State tries hard to keep you all separated from each other. Probably a good idea. Still, it's not too miserable, and you're probably treated well. It's a boring, miserable existence, but tolerable.
  
  It's another one of those dark, miserable days, like most days in prison, where you've been left to rot in your cell, lying about it as you wait for something to happen. Daydreaming, you imagine being back at the farm, a few friends at your side as you work in the nice, sunny weather, free at last...
  
  Your daydreaming is interrupted as a guard rushes up to the cell doors, looking panicked and frantic.
  
  "You're being evacuated! We're moving you to another prison! Hands..."
  
  "What?" you interrupt, confused. "What's going on? Evacuation?"
  
  "Never you mind! Now, hands...!"
  
  "Hands in the air!" a voice from down the hallway shouts.
  
  "Shit!" the guard says, rushing to draw his pistol and nearly falling over himself.
  
  A gunshot echoes through the hallways, as the guard slumps over, sliding down the bars. You watch as a squad of IRA soldiers rushes down the hallway, rifles in hand. One of them pauses, pressing his grinning, bearded face between the cell bars.
  
  "Michael!" Joseph grins.
  
  "Joseph?" you ask. "Jesus, Joseph, what the fuck are you doing here?"
  
  "We were coming to see you, but visiting hours weren't on so we had to break in and get you out of here," Joseph smiles.
  
  Joseph moves down, grabbing the keys off the guard and quickly unlocking the cell door. You quickly move out, embracing your brother.
  
  "It's good to see you, Joseph."
  
  "It's good to see you too, Michael."
  
  "So, tell me. What the fuck's going on?" you ask.
  
  "Frank Aiken has led a huge assault of IRA soldiers to liberate the prisoners here and capture the rifles stored here," Joseph explains.
  
  "Perfect. Let's go deal with this, then," you say.
  
  With the element of surprise and numbers, the barracks is quickly taken over. Over 400 rifles are taken, with 240 Republican prisoners being released. Quickly, you move patrols out, taking the town and routing the Free State soldiers from it. Most are captured or escape off into the hills, with only a few kills. Perhaps it's because your rescuers are far more hesitant to shoot fellow Irishmen than they are British occupiers.
  
  Quickly, however, the next wave of Free State soldiers soon arrive and prepare a counter-attack to take back the town. Quickly, Frank Aiken assembles a few high-ranking IRA soldiers whose opinions he trusts, and thankfully you're one of them thanks to the fact you actually were kept in this prison and are the brother of Aiken's newest lieutenant.
  
  "We have a problem," Frank Aiken says. "The Br..."
  
  Frank Aiken pauses, almost forgetting himself. For many of you, Aiken included, it's been a hard transition to go from fighting British soldiers to former friends and comrades.
  
  "The Free State have arrived in force. They're going to attempt to push us out of the city, and we need to decide how we're going to react before they organize and attack. I need opinions. I've been considering a truce with them, to allow us to retreat with our captured weapons and freed comrade in exchange for the release of the men we captured. It seems like the most peaceful way this can end."
  
  "That's too weak. We need to hit them hard, before they have a chance to properly organize. We can strike a hard blow, and push them back with ease," one of the soldiers says.
  
  "No, we should hold down. We have the arms, we have the men, and we'll have the defensive advantage," a particularly qualified soldier named Sean F. Quinn says.
  
  "And what do the McCarthy twins think? Joseph?"
  
  "We're not twins," Joseph says, as if disliking that notion. "I don't make decisions. That's more of Michael's job. I just shoot guns and take over when we get into the kick of it."
  
  "Well, then, Michael? What's your opinion on the matter? You were a prisoner here, you deserve a say."
  
  > organize a truce to escape with the other liberated prisoners and captured arms
  "We organize a truce, like you said. That seems like the best way forward. If we've freed the prisoners and taken the arms, we've done all this mission had to accomplish. If we can end it without any further bloodshed, that's even better."
  
  "So then, if the majority of us support that, it seems like a reasonable decision. Joseph, do you stand by your brother's opinion?"
  
  Joseph nods.
  
  "Damn straight I do. I'm just glad to see him again."
  
  "Well then, we're decided. We try organize the troops. Meanwhile, prepare for a defense in case they refuse our terms."
  
  You quickly assemble the troops, mostly taking control of the Republican prisoners you've come to know, preparing them for a defense, while Frank Aiken sends out an unarmed messenger to offer terms to the Free State. The terms are simple: the IRA forces be allowed to retreat with the prisoners captured, which you sure as hell were adamant about keeping in there, given how shit sick you are of prison food,and the arms taken, in exchange for allowing the Free State to retake the town, as well as releasing the Free State prisoners that have been captured in the taking of the town. There's a long, desperate and nerve-wracking wait, as you prepare for the Free State's response.
  
  After about an hour of waiting, the messenger finally returns. Frank Aiken, you, Joseph and Aiken's lieutenants assemble around him.
  
  "What did he say?" Frank Aiken asks.
  
  "They said if they have your word that their men will be released, and that there will be no attempt at sabotaging the town or leaving behind traps for the Free State soldiers who take back the town, then it's agreed, and you can begin evacuating the town."
  
  "Perfect," Frank Aiken says, a relieved smile flashing across his face. "Let's begin the evacuation as soon as we can."
  
  You begin to organize the transport of the captured arms out of the barracks in a few trucks captured out back, as you organize the released Republican soldiers. You leave the captured Free State soldiers in the cells they once imprisoned your comrades. With that, you begin a slow, nervous evacuation of the town, retreating to the countryside where you can disperse and escape with your captured spoils. As you sit in the passenger seat of a truck laden with captured rifles, you nervously wait, terrified of the Free State going against their word and attacking, which with the element of surprise and the use of artillery, they could easily wipe you out. Thankfully, though they make no such attempt, and you quickly escape out into the countryside.
  
  "A successful operation," Frank Aiken says. "What's that breath of free air like?"
  
  "Beautiful," you grin, leaning back as you relax. "Thank God I'm out. Let's get out of here."
  
  "Don't worry, we'll get you home to Dublin to see your family, Michael," Frank Aiken says.
  
  "Perfect," you sigh in relief, as the truck full of arms and released prisoners rolls free of the town.
  
  > Months Pass...
  Over the next few months, the treaty war gets more and more out of hand, spiraling out of control. It's not long before it becomes clear that the IRA are losing, and the Free State are soon going to triumph.
  
  Out of prison, you get to see Ma and Mary once again. Mary's had her boy, a little lad named Morgan. Although you don't get to see much of them due to being on the run with the others, given that your name and face is down on a registry of escaped anti-Treaty criminals, but it's nice to see them for even a little bit.
  
  However, like every war, there are casualties. Arthur Griffith, overworked and strained from constant stress in keeping the government running smoothly while keeping Britain appeased, dies from heart failure leading to a cerebral hemorrhage. Only ten days later, at Béal na Bláth, Michael Collins is assassinated in an IRA ambush, where he is the only loss.
  
  After losing two great leaders, the Free State becomes far more draconian in it's work in ending this whole blasted war., including performing executions without trials, larger scale internment and the criminalization of holding any arms whatsoever. This leads to the execution of Erskine Childers, the man who first ran guns for the Irish Volunteers, after he was found with a pistol that he claimed was a gift form Michael Collins. His last words become famous. As he stared down the firing squad to execute him, he said "Take a step forward, lads. It'll be easier that way." If nothing else, the man went out with style.
  
  As the war gets more brutal, it becomes clear Ireland as a nation will not last unless this comes to an end soon.
  
  In an attempt to influence the political background here, you've been ordered to head down to the house of adamant pro-Treaty TD Seán McGarry. Whilst he's away on business leaving the house unoccupied, you're to set fire to the place and burn it down to the ground, to hopefully scare the TD into ending his support for the treaty.
  
  You drive a small truck down the back road to McGarry's large country house. Like you were told, the place is empty, with no cars out front. You pull over, clambering out of the car to grab the two big cannisters of gasoline in the back.
  
  "Let's get to work, then," you say.
  
  "You know," Joseph suggests. "We could rob this place before we burn it down. You know, take out a few valuables. They'd be destroyed anyway..." Joseph says.
  
  "We're professionals," you say. "We should just be burning this place down, not looting like criminals."
  
  "No one would know."
  
  "Joseph!"
  
  "Oh, damn it! Seriously?" he asks. "God, you're too professional."
  
  > loot the house
  "Let's make some money off this," you say, walking inside the building. "It'll all be turned to ash anyway."
  
  You walk into the building, quickly snapping the lock and twisting it open with a knife. With that done, you head inside the large house. You move inside, staring around at a large hallway. You move over to the counter, scraping off a mixture of old English pounds and freshly printed Irish notes and stuffing them into your pocket. Joseph takes off his rucksack, beginning to pile expensive, fancy silverware into the bag. You
  
  "There should be jewelry upstairs in the master bedroom. Let's try hurry this, though," Joseph says. "We don't have a lot of time before McGarry comes home."
  
  You quickly head upstairs, rushing up the staircase and moving straight into the master bedroom. It's a large enough room, a bit luxurious for a public servant. You move to the bedside counter, pulling it open as you search through the drawers. Eventually, you manage to find a drawer filled with woman's jewelry, a fancy man's watch and a pair of handsome and expensive looking silver cufflinks. You take it all, sliding it into your pocket, before stepping away from the bed
  
  You move out, your pockets jangling with jewelry as you head down the stairs. However, just as you begin moving down the stairs, you pause, hearing a rustling nearby in one of the rooms, although it could've easily been your imagination.
  
  "Come on! We're in a hurry to do this before McGarry and his family shows up and we all get shot to shit! Stop searching through a massive house before we get caught!" Joseph cries from downstairs.
  
  > investigate the noise
  You move towards the sound of the noise, pressing the side of your head against the wooden door. You listen carefully, before reaching down on the door handle and pulling it open slowly.
  
  You pause as the door opens fully, seeing a woman sitting inside with a shotgun in her hands. Her three children clutch at her from behind her, staring at you. You stare back at them, and for a brief moment, not a word is said.
  
  "Wait, we're not here to...!" you say frantically, before the woman pulls the trigger.
  
  A tight burst of buckshot sends you flying backwards, knocking into the wall and sliding down it with a wet, crimson smear. Blood begins pouring out of your torn up insides, as you gasp desperately. You go to reach for your gun, fingers desperately grasping at the cold wooden stock, before another shot finishes that attempt.