Blacklight S2 (R)

[Ange Keating]

“Why is she at the prison?” Elijah instantly interrogated once his limbs had warmed down enough to be semi-functional again. He was sure there were other valid questions to ask, ones that involved figuring out how Landry had found him, or why Ethan was with him, but he couldn't be assed to learn of such details when Emma was locked away somewhere in a condition he was still completely in the dark on.

At that point Landry had unleashed a car from his transportation cube, the dark vehicle soaring above a plethora of trees as Darrius and Elijah were strapped into the back seat. Ethan had been the first to answer him, neck craned so that they were face-to-face. “Y'know an eye for an eye? That old idiom we used to learn in grade school? That's exactly what Hoffman and the Triad hunger for. She killed his wife and now he wishes to do the same to her in return.”

Before Elijah could even panic, he offered him a reassuring shake of his head.

“She's not dying straight away. They want to torture her, drive her to the point of insanity. Then after that? She goes to the arena.”

“What's the arena?” Darrius inquired, voice taut with worry.

“The place where other rebels fight it out to the death. It's twisted entertainment for Hoffman and The Triad to watch the scoundrel of the country kill each other, especially when they're supposed to be playing on the same team.”

Elijah noticeably cringed as he felt himself growing more impatient with how slow this car ride was. He didn't question her physical and cognitive abilities for a second, but that still didn't assuage his worries. People made mistakes; they fucked up. He didn't want Emma to take one wrong step and lose her life in turn. “How long do we have until she's taken to the arena?”

Ethan glanced at his watch, only thinking about it for two seconds tops. “About four hours.”

***

The rest of the car ride had comprised of Elijah drilling Landry on how many minutes they had left until they approached the prison meanwhile internally counting down on the time they had left until the battle. By the time the foliage had thinned and a gigantic, translucent dome shredded the ground, their time had withered down to an intimidating ninety minutes.

“There's only one way to do this correctly,” Landry sternly announced, momentarily giving Elijah nostalgia of his days spent working for him. Subsequently, he pushed a button on his dashboard, a tiny draw expelling from the compact space and revealing piles of jet black uniforms. “You impersonate a Triad member. As long as they don't ask to see your nonexistent tattoos, which isn't very likely rest assured, you should be able to slip her in and out easily. Help will be on the way.”

“You're not joining us?” Darrius questioned, although he was already hurriedly tugging off his cotton t-shirt and reaching for the somber material.

“We need to guard the perimeter. If something comes up,” he handed the two men ear pieces, “we'll be the first to let you know.”

Elijah was already halfway into his uniform, shoving the handgun into his holster just as he finished doing the buckle.

“We'll also give you the necessary directions into the prison. There's a tunnel right behind the dome that will forego the arena and lead you right into the place you need to be. Once you arrive, say 'checkpoint' and we'll feed you what to do next.”

In spite of the desperation that plagued his thoughts, he stared both men right in the eye before responding with a solemn, “Thank you.”

Soon, the vehicle was landing, Elijah being the first to climb out onto the courtyard.

[laura]

”I’m so terribly sorry for all the trauma you’ve gone through. It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for today.” Hot, stale breath blew across her face as Hoffman bent down, his face an inch from her own. He touched his hand to her cheek. “But you see, I’ve come across a problem.”

Emma was back in the room she’d started all of this in; with its white walls, bright lights and the table she’d come to know so well. They’d dragged her from her cell shortly after Ray had sounded the alarm, with promises of punishment for what had befallen Nigel.

As far as Emma was concerned, the bastard got what he deserved.

Her hands gripped at the arm rests of the chair, bracing herself for what was to come. Get it over with already.
When she offered no verbal reply, his fingers moved to cup her chin. “I can’t say I particularly care about the fool you killed, but I have one person that does…and she’s less than pleased with you right now.” He looked briefly to the floor. “I’ve promised her retribution.”

At the last word, the doors slid open, the sound of heels clicking against the tiled floor the first noise to meet her ears – she didn’t have to look to know who it was that had just walked in.
And when Hoffman moved aside, Emma saw her in all her blonde glory.

She hadn’t changed a bit; tall and skinny, her hands resting on her straight hips and bright blonde hair tied back into a bun, revealing her sharp features and striking blue eyes. The only difference was the all black uniform she was sporting.
“Well…hello, Emma. Long time no see.”
Emma ground her teeth. “Not long enough,”
She ignored that. “No Elijah? Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“He ran off,” Hoffman said, moving away to lean against the far wall. “As did the rest of her group.”
“Left alone. Abandoned.” Amanda tutted, a forged pout tugging on her bottom lip. “That happens to you a lot, doesn’t it? Even Landry has turned his back on you.”

Her façade must have dropped, if only for a moment, at the mention of her former boss’s name. Landry. She’d wondered on numerous occasions what had happened to him, whether he was still alive or not. Now she knew.
And to say that she was disappointed would be an understatement.
Landry had been her role model from their first introduction, her friend and even…a reluctant father figure.

“Oh! She didn’t know!”
Hoffman chuckled. “He’s been very helpful – just as Ethan and Malcolm Lowe have been too. Your father was the one to bring you in actually, he seemed very eager to hand you over.”

Malcolm’s betrayal was hardly a surprise, but Ethan? The last she’d seen of him he’d run off into the darkness, shattered over his fathers infidelity and the knowledge that Emma was his half-sister. She knew nothing about what he’d done after that.

“Okay!” The blonde announced, her hands dropping her hips. “I’d done with talking, Henry. I want my revenge now.”
He shrugged and walked toward the door. “Remember – do not kill her. That’s for this evening.”

As she tugged a pair of gloves from her pants pockets, Amanda smiled and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

[Ange Keating]

The entire area was swallowed in darkness, save for the few pulses of light that radiated from light towers stationed from each corner of the lot. The duo was careful to dodge the beams of illumination, sticking to the shadows and staying as low as possible to the ground as they could. In spite of their costumes, neither of them wanted unnecessary attention, the sole goal in mind to get into the prison and get Emma out in under an hour and a half.

“There!” Darrius exclaimed, his voice in a sharp whisper as he nodded towards a dark tunnel that slipped downwards at the backside of the dome. It had smooth, metal bars barricading the double doors behind it, although not a Triad member stood in sight.

Elijah absentmindedly marveled at the general lack of security in a place that was seemingly so significant. Nonetheless, he didn't question it.

One they approached the doors, Landry's voice instantly infiltrated his ear canal, the message clear and concise.

“The password is A1200-1103.” He punched in the corresponding numbers, waiting impatiently for the rusting gate to slide out of its hinges, revealing the brass door knobs that would lead into the prison. Darrius was the first to extend a hand, even though he made no move to open it.

“We need to be careful from here on out,” Darrius ordered. “Trust no one.”

Elijah already knew and understood exactly how to deal with such situations, in accordance to his extensive resume, but he instantaneously opted out of irrelevant conversation.

Darrius then pulled open the doors, the blonde ex-agent's hand remaining close to his hand gun, a narrow, stone pathway greeting them on the other side. Four men stood at the entrance, eyes simultaneously connecting with theirs.

Elijah's heart didn't even miss a beat, face remaining dead pan.

“Good evening,” he greeted monotonously, as if he were more annoyed with his job than anything. Darrius wasn't slow to catch on, nodding powerfully to his peers. Fortunately, their had been nothing offbeat about their facade, the group of guards only shaking their heads in return and humming greetings.

They proceeded forward.

“Excellent acting, gentlemen,” Landry's voice buzzed through the ear piece once again. “You are only a few yards away from--”

The line cut off.

“Landry?” Elijah harshly whispered underneath his breath, glancing around the labyrinth of different walkways that branched out around them. He couldn't even begin to guess which one would take him to the destination he desired.

“Landry? Ethan?” He repeated, a little more urgently, because fuck, they needed to get to Emma now. Right now.

“What's wrong?” Darrius' voice rose in pitch, trying his hand at resuscitating the dead line, although to no avail.

Elijah glanced over his shoulder at the men watching the entrance, one or two pairs of eyes observing them much too closely. They were standing around too long.

“We have to split up,” he urged, already resuming his stride. “We'll update each other on the area's we've already scavenged.”

Darrius looked uncertain, but for whatever reason, he agreed.

[laura]

Amanda whipped the sweat from her brow, a triumphant laugh bursting from her throat as she took in the sight of her handy work.
“How could someone like you take out Nigel, eh?” She made sure to give Emma a hard and swift kick, just to make her point. “You haven’t even fought back!”

The fact that Emma was tied down to a chair might have something to do with that fact; that and how emotionally and physically exhausted she was. If only Emma was back to her normal self – she’d whip the floor with the blonde in less than ten seconds.

With Amanda’s kick, the chair toppled over onto its side, taking Emma with it. She cried out as it landed, her ankle twisting uncomfortably under the pressure of the thick chair leg. An array of stars burst out from behind her eyelids.

“This isn’t real! I was expecting you to do…something, anything to stop me. But look at you, I’ve beaten fifty shades out of you and you haven’t even spoken to me. I’m disappointed, Emma.”

Through clenched teeth, Emma murmured a faint murmur. “This is…the…only way…y-you can beat…me.”

The blonde was always one of the lesser agents, the bottom of the pile, the paper-pusher; she ran away from field work with her tail between her legs – that had been the reason for why her and Emma had first clashed. Emma had showed her up at every opportunity, the first to get her hands dirty, all the while Amanda was happy to stand on the side lines and cheer the men on.

Sapphire blue eyes were abruptly in her line of vision. “There’s another way. Do ya know what I’m going to do after your dead?” She cocked one blonde eyebrow in question. “I’m going to hunt your Elijah down and make him mine; what he should have been from the beginning. I’ll help him forget you ever existed.”

Emma glared at her with a newfound hate. If she died and even if, with time, he did forget about her, Elijah would never, ever let Amanda weasel her way into his life – he wasn’t that guy anymore, the one that fell into bed with anyone who looked at him with interest. Their love had changed that.

A whoosh sounded then, signalling the door opening. “Play time is over, kitten.”
Amanda stood up as Hoffman entered, the seriousness vanishing from her face. “Do you need me to escort her to the arena, sir?”
“No. I have others to do that job.” From her position on the floor, Emma couldn’t see the door, but she knew when the others walked in, could hear their boots on the tiles. “Pick her up lads.”

Multiple pairs of hands tugged up and roughly pulled her free from the chair. The guards were kitted out in their full Triad gear, black helmets and all, making it impossible to see who the person was on the inside.
Hoffman smiled when they faced her forward, toward him. “Ready for this, little dove? It’s time to pay for your sins, to suffer for what you did to my wife and child.”

Every bone and muscle throbbed within her – there were cuts from Amanda’s knife covering her body, bruises on the places the blade hadn’t touched and as she tried to stand, she quickly discovered that her ankle was twisted, sending a shooting pain up her leg the moment she put weight onto it.
Between that and her blood loss, she wasn’t on her feet very long.

Hoffman sighed. “For Christ sake, pick her up! We have a crowd waiting.”
The guards tried twice more to force her to walk, to no avail. “But she won’t move, sir.”
“Then drag her! NOW!”

[Ange Keating]

Elijah didn't even fully believe he was tethered to his mind anymore. He had one objective in mind, and now with no Landry and a prison that suddenly felt ten times bigger, he couldn't waste a second.

The hallways curved in numerous directions, all of which had the possibility of leading to Emma. While Darrius had made a sharp right turn, Elijah had continued forward down the straight path, watching to make sure the guards were out of sight before breaking out into a full on sprint. With most, if not all, of his injuries tended to, traveling was considerably easier.

“Nothing but the boiler room here,” Darrius' voice sounded. “Taking the east route.”

Elijah softly grunted to let the other know he had received his message, briefly glancing down at his watch to see the minutes bleeding down to a taunting thirty. His pace increased, nearly sliding across the smooth stone in the process as he made a sharp left turn, given it was the only way he could go. His heart rate had undoubtedly increased in spite of him trying to subdue it, just to hit a jerking pause once he almost ran directly into a solid wall.

Fucking dead end.

Preparing to turn around and sprint back, his actions were halted when he noticed how the large slab of concrete seemed lifted from the rest of the building. Instinctively furrowing his eyebrows together, he pushed at the wall only for it to shift a little in its place, but with no substantial movement. The next time, he shoved a little harder, until his palms were raw and scratchy and bloody in a few places.

Again, his attempts were to no avail.

Feeling nothing but sheer frustration, he backed up a few paces before jamming his shoulder directly into the wall. A sharp pain sluiced through his arm and with a hard bite to the tongue he was able to contain the scream that was on the brink of being released.

However, in spite of the lingering affliction, the stone wall screeched in its hinges and rotated, leading into a room that was darker than the hallway outside. For a split second Elijah contemplated whether moving into the unknown area was a wise decision, but throwing all caution to the wind, he stepped forward.

The slab slammed behind him subsequently afterwards. Elijah had another shoulder to spare if he needed a quick escape.

One of the first things he noticed upon entering was the dank, almost sewage-like smell of the space, followed by the dramatic decrease in temperature. His steps were light and inconspicuous, fingers tracing along the rough wall to feel out the general proximity. His left hand was able to flatten against the cement on one side, his right arm lifting upwards, regardless of his bad shoulder, to feel out the western wall.

Only, instead of a solid enclosure, he felt bars. Cool, steel bars.

Darrius' voice crackled in his ear once more. “I haven't spotted any holdin' cells as of yet. Where you at?”

“I-I think I may have found it. Go straight. Keep going straight until you find a wall. Shove it open when you get there.”

His voice lifted in well-controlled excitement. “Okay.”

“Emma?” he called softly, taking a chance as he still felt around. “Are you in here?”

There was no response at first, until another voice, debilitated but very much coherent, responded. “She was t-taken to the a-arena.”

Following the voice, he nearly rushed to the cell it was coming from. He still couldn't see well, but his eyes had adjusted somewhat to the lack of light. The room was smaller than he had originally thought, a row of cells pressed flush together taking up most of the space. His fingers wrapped around the bars of the block in which the noise was coming from, attempting to peer into it.

“When was she taken? Do you know how to get there?”

“N-Not too long ago. Time...is so hard to depict in a place like this. B-But the games haven't started yet so you should be able to get to her. Go now—go before--”

His voice was cut off by the sound of several loud explosions, high enough in intensity to send him stumbling to his knees as the floor violently vibrated from beneath him. Shouts were heard loud and clear from the outside hallway followed by guns going off. He sprung up from the floor, grabbing onto the bar so that he could latch onto something stable.

“Before—before they take her into that e-elevator!” The man screamed with the desperation Elijah felt. “If you turn right back around and make two rights it should take you there! Go now! Go!”

Light spilled into the room, about a dozen soldiers with stark white uniforms stomping inside. “Smoke bombs, GO!”

A blast of white ash was sent directly in Elijah's direction, burning his vision and forcing his lungs to contract. He felt like he was on fire, every limb being seared to the very bone. Still, blazing determination flooded through every ounce of him and he was charging full force towards the line of people barricading the door. If he had to take out every single one of them in order to get to Emma, he would.

[laura]

The attack came quickly, shaking the very building to its core. The moment the explosions sounded, faith bloomed inside her chest – could it possibly be Elijah? She hadn’t let herself think of a potential rescue mission before, the hope of it and the need to see Elijah would have driven her insane.

They were at the doors to the elevator, the doors pinging open when the first shudder came and they all but threw her into the circular space when the second one hit.

“What the fuck was that?!” One of the guards barked from behind his helmet, touching the patch over his ear.
“We’re under attack!” Another barked, pressing the button to send them upwards.
“By the South?!” The first dropped his hand from his helmet. Apparently the voice in his ear had given all he needed to know. “I knew we should have taken that bitch out too – now look, she’s rising a fucking army up!”

Emma blinked in confusion. The South? An Army? What the hell…
Hope of Elijah finding her dwindled into nothing, but a new belief in Hoffman’s demise rose up in its place. They’d been in hiding for so long, away from the news of what was going on outside of the North, that she hadn’t contemplated the South’s retaliation.
What the hell had taken them so long!?

The doors closed – but not before an arm appeared, forcing the sliders apart to show another helmeted guard.
“Called up.” His voice was gruff behind the black glass.
The three men nodded in understanding and stepped aside to make room for him, one of them roughly tugging Emma out of his way. She tripped over her throbbing ankle and stumbled, unintentionally reaching out for the nearest guard to her.

She realised her mistake the moment her hands touched the coarse material and instantly released her hold, dropping to the floor instead.
“For Christ sake, get up off the floor - !” Gloved fingers laced through her hair, fisting a hand full of her red locks to lift her up. “Wonder what is going to happen to this one.”
“They’ll delay her execution until after we deal with these Southern bastards.”
“Did they tell you how many were attacking?”
“No, just screaming a load of orders. It can’t be too bad.”
“Hmm, well I don’t see the point of bringing here up here. We’ll just get told to go back down. Here, take her.”

The doors finally closed as they man-handled her from one to the other; the only one that didn’t throw her off him was the newest addition. In fact, he was holding her up.

They rose up toward the arena in silence, the only noises heard coming from the attacks – and they were getting louder, the building shaking harder. It wasn’t until the doors slid open that they knew the true extent of what was going on.

There was an uneven amount of white on black uniforms darting throughout the arena, with more white, southern soldiers dropping down from their crafts every second. The sound of bullet fire, screams of pain and orders echoed in the air.

The arms holding her up vanished when the doors slid apart, no doubt running off to join in on the fight –
Bang, Bang, Bang!
With every shot, a body dropped to the floor, sporting a neat hole in each of their helmets. What the hell…?
With the help of the elevator wall, Emma limped around to face the last remaining guard, her brows raised as she waited for what he was going to do next – shoot her? Shoot himself? Who the hell knew.

He stepped toward her, his hands coming to rest on either side of her face. For a few seconds, Emma could see nothing but her own reflection in his helmet (and what a beaten up mess she looked), until the glass melted away, revealing a pair of ocean blue eyes.

Her breath caught in her throat. “E-Elijah?”

[Ange Keating]

Nothing else registered in Elijah's head once Emma was properly in his arms, alive, albeit banged up. His lips found hers before his words could, just holding her there for a moment before pressing their foreheads together. It was only when another series of deafening gun shots sounded did he pull away as if the scene before them had just materialized before their eyes.

A slough of bodies shrouded the raised platform, a guard rail circling the perimeter of the arena as rushing water hummed underneath the floor. As if on cue, Darrius' voice was entering into his ear once more, voice panicked. “The group is here fightin'! Where the hell are you? Did you find Em?”

His hand was still on her waist as he nodded firmly. “Got her. She's not in good condition to fight.”
“Elijah--” she protested, only for him to shake his head again.
“I'll take her somewhere safe, and then come back.”
“We're holding down the fort with the Southern army. Just worry about getting her somewhere safe, y'hear?”

Elijah didn't need instruction as far as Emma's best interest was concerned.

“Elijah, I can fight,” she announced, just as the elevator doors closed. “Just give me a gun, and-”
“No.” He wouldn't risk losing her after putting so much effort into finding her before she was publicly executed. Absolutely not.
She looked like she wanted to continue to put up a fight but heaved a small sigh as she rolled out her neck. Her skin was marred with bruises, the sight enough to make every muscle in his body taut with both anger and worry. As the elevator hummed while moving back down the shaft, he clutched at her cheeks, pulling her in close again. “Who did this to you?”

“Does it matter?” she sighed, eyes falling towards the ground before meeting his again. “We have to fix this, Elijah. It's—It's gone too far. And getting me somewhere safe won't help anything!”
“Emma, you wouldn't be able to help. You can barely walk.”
“I could try. It's better than just...sitting on the sidelines like this. We both made a promise that we'd stop Hoffman, and--”

“Unfortunately stopping me isn't very likely, my dear,” a foreign voice sounded, the couple simultaneously looking towards the elevator doors which were now open. Hoffman stood at the entrance, arms folded behind his back while Ray and holy-shit, Amanda? stood on opposite ends of him. Elijah instantly grabbed his gun from the holster, aiming it at the man that had been the root cause of millions of people's suffering. He'd take the fucker out merrily.

Only, Hoffman laughed at the gun aimed at him, as if it fired bubbles rather than actual bullets. “I wouldn't do that, Walker.” Then nodding towards a vindictive Amanda, who winked at him devilishly, she relished a small, yet clearly visible cube from her pocket. “If you were to so much as think about pulling that trigger, my beautiful little minx right here won't hesitate to push that little button right there-” he gestured towards the switch on the miniscule box, grin widening, “-blowing the entire arena to smithereens.”

Elijah's lip twitched in anger although he was slowly lowering the weapon, Ray stepping forward to force it out of his hands. He briefly considered fighting out of retaliation but remembered people such as Beth, Rylee, and Darrius who were fighting down there for good causes. Emma seemed to realize the same thing, for she didn't even open her mouth to refuse Hoffman's demands.

“Now you are going to follow us without putting up a fight, understood?”

Elijah and Emma simultaneously glanced over at each other, before they were nodding solemnly.

[laura]

They didn't get very far before Ray began his impatient ranting, complaining about Emma's speed. What did he expect? She was slowly bleeding out from the countless slashes now littering her bruised body and only one of her ankles were currently mobile. Someone forgive her for not running like Flash.

Hoffman waved a dismissive hand and ordered him to carry her. His arms were locking around her legs, ready to heave her over his shoulder, when Elijah stepped forward, shoving the man away in one abrupt move.

“I don't think so. Keep your hands to yourself.” He barked.
“Then why don't you carry her?” Hoffman suggested with an exasperated sigh. “Just make it quick.”

Elijah didn't need telling twice.

Shooting Ray a deathly glare, he gently scooped her into his arms, tucking her securely into his chest; Emma wound her arms around his neck, her head dropping onto his shoulder. There was a high possibility that they were being led to their deaths, but that did nothing to diminish her relief; if she was going to die, this was a better place than any.

The walls continued to shudder as they travelled through the winding hallways and Triad soldiers ran around like ants, some running in the same direction they were heading, others toward the elevator.
“They're fleeing, sir.” Ray grounded out, sliding his gun from its holster. “Want me to -”
“No,” Hoffman answered, cutting the man off. “Running is a greater punishment. They won't make it through the woods.”
“Cowards,” Amanda spat, flicking on a head piece. “I'll call the Lowe’s and Landry down here. We could use the extra force in case the Southerners are surrounding the perimeter.”

Elijah's arms tightened around her at the mention of Landry's name.
“Switched sides.” Emma whispered to him.
His eyes met with hers, his blue orbs narrowing. There was a hidden message hiding there, but Emma was too far down the road of disorientation to know what it was.

Amanda spoke up again. “They're on their way. Malcolm said he'd meet us there.”
“Where are we going?” Elijah asked.
“How about shut up and put up?” Amanda suggested, giving him a coy smile. “If we wanted to tell you that, we would have already. So keep that pretty mouth closed.”

“...little bitch.” Emma just about caught the tail end of Elijah's whispered curse, a moment before they reached the end of the hall.

Hoffman swiped a card across a panel to his left, a set of doors materialising in front of them, opening without encouragement to the woodland beyond.
He nodded toward the exit. “After you.”

Elijah moved, nudging past Amanda as he walked out into the cool evening air, the noises from the fighting armies louder now, echoing from the arena above.

They were barely past the tree line when they were ordered to stop.
“Put her down,” Hoffman ordered, clapping his hands together. “This is where we part.”
Ever so carefully, Elijah placed Emma onto her feet. “You've brought us out here to say goodbye? How thoughtful.”

A knowing smile tugged at the mans lips. “Isn't it? Now,” his hand waved dismissively. “Say goodbye to one another. We have a long way to go to cross the Southern Border and Ray has other things to do.”
The man in question rubbed his hands together anxiously. “I'll make it quick.”

Emma frowned, uncomfortable with the way the man was staring at her. “What are you talking about? Make what quick?”
Elijah placed a hand on to her hip. “And why are we saying goodbye?”

Amanda strutted forward, her eyes brightening with every step. “Because you're coming with us.”
“And I've kindly asked Ray to put your lady out of her misery.” Hoffman was grinning, relishing in the moment. “Don't look so uneasy, Emma. I know that what he did to you yesterday is still fresh in your mind, but - “

Without a care for the details, Elijah abruptly cut the Triad Leader short. “What did he do?”
Emma inwardly cringed. “Nothing.”
“She killed Nigel!” Amanda cried out, a faux sob catching in her throat.
Hoffman nodded. “In a very interesting way, I might add. Snapped his neck with her legs. He and Ray tried to...well...get forcibly friendly with her.”

Ray crossed his arms, his gaze never leaving the red head. “There's still time.”

A chill ran down her spine at his tone and she couldn't stop herself from moving further away from him. Would this hell ever end? Just when Emma thought that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, it vanished, disintegrating into nothing.

“We don't have time to waste - Amanda, escort Elijah this way. We need to get out of here before those fuckers in white find us.”

[Ange Keating]

Elijah didn't even have to blink before he was removing the gun from his holster in a fit of rage, aiming it directly at Ray. “If you so much as move an inch I will fucking disembowel you.” Venom bled through his tone, eyes darkening. “And I'm not going anywhere. Not without her.”

Amanda's lip curled into a petulant smile, eyebrows raising. “Oh really? I don't think you have much of a choice in the matter.” She then reached out her hand to touch him, not even getting close before Elijah was grabbing her wrist, twisting it until she wailed out in pain, knees dropping to the grass.

Hoffman seemed amused by the entire debacle, but not in the slightest fazed. “Unfortunately she is right. Things either go my way, or well, every single person inside of that dome will be blasted to ashes.”

Elijah's lip was wavering, finger not relenting on the trigger. He was stood in front of Emma, free palm flattening against her abdomen protectively. If that was the sacrifice he had to make, he would. When it boiled down to it, Elijah had never tried to be a martyr; he had promised that it'd only be the two of them against the world and that hadn't changed. Everyone else was extra.

Amanda was slowly rising to her feet, expression contorted into one that mirrored a mixture of disbelief and betrayal before she was backing up towards Hoffman.

“Now are we going to prolong this or not? We really don't have much time here.”

“Kill me,” Elijah offered vehemently through grit teeth. “L-Let her go and kill me.”

The older man seemed to chuckle genuinely, shaking his head. “This isn't a negotiable arrangement, Walker. I have very particular plans for you, and I'm sure Ray has special ones for Emma later. It's time to cut the chord and join the stronger side. I remember you saying you didn't like losing, right? Well you've been losing this entire time. You'll be the star again when you join us; we'll only strengthen your abilities.”

Elijah didn't have even have a second to react before three more men made their presence known in the circle – Landry, Ethan, and Malcolm all grinning in triumph as if they knew something no one else did. Surprisingly, Hoffman turned to grin at Landry. “Ah. Showed up just in time.”

Elijah's eyebrows furrowed, glancing at his old boss in question. The man didn't reciprocate his stare, only folding his arms behind his back contently as he watched the scene unfold.

“In case it wasn't common knowledge previously, I'd like to introduce you to my brother.” He wrapped his arm around Malcom's shoulders, teeth glimmering underneath the dimming light. “He's been playing you all like dolls since the very start. Every action, every moment, was spent placing the cards exactly right to bring you here, Walker. Your friends were just pawns in the big picture. And now you have no other option than to submit. You'll come to realize such women in your life are a hindrance, by the way. They twist your mind and skew your judgment. They try to manipulate you, take some of your power.” Elijah's heart was throbbing against his rib cage at the realization. If Malcolm was Emma's father, and Hoffman was his brother, than that made Hoffman Emma's-- “I'm sorry I couldn't have been a better uncle, sweetheart. It just, didn't fit into the grand scheme of things, y'know? I couldn't support the fact that your father had sex with a slut and then...you came out.”

A low sound rumbled in the back of Elijah's throat, exercising every bit of self control he had to not lunge forward.

“You would have been a beautiful addition to the family though. Something nice and pretty to show off to the country.” Sighing, he shook his head, “If only things were different.” Elijah's eyes impulsively flew to Malcolm's, although the man remained sickeningly stoic. “Anyways, no more time for chit chat. Let's go, Walker.”
He gestured towards the young agent only to be immediately stopped by both Landry and Ethan turning their guns on him.

“No one's going anywhere,” Ethan announced adamantly.

[laura]

During Hoffman’s speech, Emma had wrapped her hand tightly around Elijah’s bicep. He wasn’t leaving her and there was no way in hell they were taking him; she’d sooner die than let that happen.

Emma wasn’t going to be separated from Elijah again.

By the end of the psychotic leaders rant, she was left staring at him in horror and denial. Uncle? Her family tree was becoming more corrupt by the day, the roots darkening the further they branched out. How hadn’t they discovered that sooner? For one, their surnames were different; which hardly said much, since they’d already discovered that Hoffman had changed his name countless times in the past.

Before she could continue with her train of thought, Landry and Ethan acted, holding their guns up toward Hoffman, commanding everyone to stay still.

Malcolm spun on to his son. “What are you doing!? Put that down.”

Ethan cocked his weapon. “No can do, Dad. This is ending. Today. The secrets and the lies… everything.”
“I didn’t lie to you.” He explained calmly, his hands rising skyward. “You’re my son, I could never do that.”
“Oh no?” The younger man shook his head in disbelief. He wasn’t buying into Malcolm’s charade. “Then why didn’t I know about him?” Ethan nodded at Hoffman. “Your brother? Are you fucking kidding me?”

As the father and son exchanged their heated words, Henry slowly turned to Landry, an inquisitive look plastered across his face. “This is highly unexpected, my friend. You’re working for that Southern bitch?”

With his free hand, Landry raised one finger into the air, another one joining it with every point he had to make. “One; I am not your friend. Two; working with her, not for her, there’s a big difference. Three; really? Unexpected? Why do I not believe you when you say that?”
The man shrugged callously. “What has she got over you, my friend? Is little Miss Samantha Bradshaw inviting you into her bed? She’s a dried up old woman, Landry, that’ll get boring fast.”

Landry smiled coolly. “I’m not doing this with you, Henry. Samantha is a dignified leader and proud president of the South – she’ll be the one to take you down…” He gazed around, searching overhead for the passing vehicles. “…which she’s currently doing as we speak. We have Peter Aplin within our care, your men are fleeing or dying, your game is over. You’ve lost.” Pressing his finger tips to his left ear, Landry spoke briefly to the person on the other end, informing them that they’d found Hoffman and that they’d require assistance as soon as possible.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Landry.” The cool, calm and collected nature that Hoffman normally sported slipped away, his expression contorting into that of pure rage. “You think taking me out will be that easy? I am the force that drives the Triad. I am the top of the pyramid. I am the power that created this wonder! There is no death for someone like me – there is only life! Eternal, blissful life.”

“He’s lost his mind.” Emma whispered, only loud enough for Elijah to hear. She inwardly cringed in the knowledge that they shared a bloodline – what hope did she have now? With her genes, the only way was down.
She squeezed at his arm at the thought.

Elijah stepped back, urging her to do the same.

“What about Emma? My sister?!” Ethan’s voice suddenly got louder, the argument between the father and son clearly hadn’t ended.
“She’s not your sister! She’s nothing. A mistake. A product of a quick fuck with a woman who wasn’t fit to breathe the same air as we do!”

“Sir…” Amanda’s voice squeaked up next. “Should I…?”

Everyone was talking at once, an array of mixed conversations, or in this case arguments, all buzzing throughout the same space.

Ray was the closest to them, using the distraction of the others to his advantage by edging closer. “I gotta ask, man…” When he spoke, Emma and Elijah quickly turned their attention to him. He was watching Emma like she was prime steak and he hadn’t eaten in a long, long time. “…how did you do it?”

Elijah frowned instead of offering him a verbal reply.
Emma watched him carefully, knowing what was coming next.

“With her, I mean,” Ray nodded toward the red head. “Is she feisty when you get her on her back? Mmm. I always imagined she would be. Hey, give me some tips – how does she like it? Hard and rough? I hope so, because that’s what she’s going to get.”

[Ange Keating]

Elijah's jaw instantly tightened, nose flaring. In that very moment, suddenly nothing mattered. Not when Ray had that stupid, triumphant smirk on his lips, as if he knew something that no one else did. And in spite of his attempts to exercise his self-control, he couldn't bring himself to just stand there, not when his rage had spiked to an inconsolable height, body barreling towards the bastard before he was knocking him hard to the ground.

Noises erupted from around the circle, Amanda making a move towards the man pinned underneath him. Landry and Ethan immediately raised their guns and directed them towards the blonde, subduing her.

“You'll never know six feet under,” Elijah growled back, fist colliding with the other's face as blood exploded around his fingers. He brought his hand down repeatedly in spite of the strangled pain that erupted from Ray's crimson lips.

He instantly moved his hands down to his throat, tightening them arduously there until he was blue and the face and writhing against the dirt for air. However, Elijah hadn't gotten the chance to do what he had wanted to do from the start, for a loud bang was sluicing through the air, hushing everyone to silence.

Bright blood bursted onto Elijah's shirt, stains that he had not personally caused. It was then that he looked up at Hoffman in mild horror to see the older man wielding a pistol, only dropping it back to his side once the damage had been done.

Ray sported a clean hole to the center of his head, skin already paling in color as Elijah stared down at the course incredulously.

“It's about time we stop with the games,” Hoffman nearly growled, breaking his calm facade. There was something wild, almost feral, in his eyes – something that caused Elijah's stomach to tighten. He then started speaking directly to the ex-agent. “I would have allowed you the kill, son, but we'll save that for later, yes? Strangulation leaves too many traces. A nice, clear shot to the temple gets the job done easier.”

Elijah was scrambling to his feet, reaching for the gun he had dropped next to Ray's body.

“I wouldn't,” Hoffman continued, nodding towards the weapon. Elijah paused mid-grab, somehow believing the true power of the diluted president. He couldn't risk it. Not with so many lives on the line. “Now, we are going to leave, and if any of you try to stop me, I'll blow up the dome and see to it that you can never so much as step into daylight again without posing the risk of having your head blown off.”

Landry's grip tightened on the gun, although Hoffman seemed to pay it no mind. He was then gesturing towards Elijah, as if beckoning him to follow behind. However, he did not move an inch.

The president looked increasingly impatient.

“I'll make you a deal, Elijah,” Hoffman compromised. “And this wasn't something I was offering initially so I encourage you to accept.”

Elijah twitched, stood right in the center of the circle.

“I will let Little Red walk, right now. No trouble, no fight. She'll be able to live her life freely and safely. Only if you surrender, only if you come with me.”

He paused, glancing over his shoulder at the woman whom he only wanted to keep protected.

“Elijah, no,” she shouted, thrashing against Malcolm's stone-hard grip on her. He hadn't even realized her father had somehow made it over to her. “This isn't a fucking one person deal!”
Elijah glared at the dirt, his mind swirling as he mulled it over.

“If you don't, if you put up a fight, I can assure you your darling won't stand a chance in it. She's injured, weak. You can't be everywhere at once, Elijah, no matter how much you'd like to think you could and your friends can only do so much. You'd be compromising her safety if you didn't comply, and that's not what you want, right?”

His tongue felt dry and thick in his mouth, the words unable to escape him at first.

“No.”

Hoffman's pearly whites were all visible once more, a cat-like grin spreading across his cheeks. “Very well then. Let's go.”

[laura]

Ethan had let his father slip past him the moment Elijah had barrelled Ray to the floor; not because he’d planned to, but because he’d been unwilling to hurt him in order to stop him. Malcolm had taken full advantage of his sons weakness.

Then, throughout the exchange between Hoffman and Elijah, Landry had subtly whispered into his ear piece, taking the distraction in his stride. One wink at Emma and she’d relaxed, willing to stay quiet until backup arrived.
Until, that is, Elijah had agreed to go with the slimy ruler for her own benefit.

Like hell. She’d sooner let herself bleed to death then let Elijah go anywhere with that man.

“Elijah…no. Don’t be stupid.” Emma braced her fists weakly at her sides. Every single part of her body hurt, but she forced herself to stand straight, if only to prove to him that she wasn’t as pathetic as Hoffman made her sound. She could fight and she would; they were too close to the end to quit now.

"It's the only way, Em," he responded, voice stern, his gaze set to the floor.

“No it’s not!” She snapped angrily. “You think I’ll survive without you? We’re winning and he knows it! I’d rather die fighting than running anymore.”

Emma looked to Landry, silently begging the man to do something, anything.
He simply shook his head at her and mimed ’not yet’. What the hell was he waiting for!? If help was coming, it would have gotten here by now.

Elijah paused, letting out a short sigh. "I just don't want you to fucking get hurt, alright?"

Amber locked with blue. “Look at me – it’s too late for that. Please don’t go. Don’t leave me here.”

“Time to shut up.” Malcolm’s warm breath blew out against her ear, his hands slipping over her shoulders and around her neck into a loose but solid hold.
“Dad…” Ethan warned, once again raising his gun up. “Stop.”

“Snap her neck, for god’s sake!” Amanda was still holding her wrist, her tone dripping with poison. “It might put an end to this shit sooner rather than later.”

Elijah half turned toward the two, his jaw clenched. “Remove your hands from her neck, or I’ll remove them from your fucking body.”

“Dad… step away from Emma.”

Hoffman sighed and dropped his gun to his side, exasperated at the scene unfolding. “Move away from the girl, Malcolm. Just look at her, there’s blood everywhere – our little blonde bunny sliced her up good – she’s dying already. Pissing everyone off isn’t going to help.”

Emma noted how Landry silently edged up behind him, his eyes never leaving the gun in his hands.

Ethan was closer to the pair than Elijah was now, his finger on the trigger. “I won’t let you hurt her.”

The man looked to his son incredulously. “You’d shoot me, for her?” His laugh rocked straight to the centre of her. “You know what? I’m going to fix this problem for everyone.”

Malcolm moved behind her, one hand sliding quickly away from her neck to reach for something beneath his coat. Time slowed for Emma then, the world around her coming to a stand still – one second she was focusing on how his fingers had tightened around her throat, the next a sharp, cold sting shot through her abdomen. An unexpected gasp burst from her lips. What the hell…?

A glint of metal made her look down, where the end of a long knife was protruding from her stomach, the rest of the blade still lodged in her body.
Oh…crap.

As quickly as he put it there, Malcolm withdrew it and without his hold on her, Emma dropped to her knees, her vision blurring, darkening around the edges. She tried to look up, tried to search for the one person she wanted to see before she died.

“..l-lijah.”

[Ange Keating]

At first it hadn't seemed real; Malcolm's hand twisted around the knife as he drove it into Emma's stomach, followed by her body crumpling to the floor, blood seeping through her tattered clothes. For a split second Elijah just stood there, mostly because his shock had paralyzed him into submission. It was only when reality flooded in, his name, falling from her crimson lips, broken and weak, did something inside of him snap.

Letting out a scream of unadulterated rage, he reached for the gun he had dropped on the ground, aiming it at Malcolm and delivering three subsequent blows. One to the temple and two to the chest. A twisted grin spread across his lips, blood sputtering and dribbling down his chin before he was falling backwards, body inches away from Emma's.

There could have been noise, protest around him, but Elijah's line of thought only centered in on the red head steadily lightening in color and clutching at the bullet wound near her abdomen. He ran over to her, knees falling into the mud before he was cradling her to his chest, fingers closing over hers.

“Oh god,” Elijah groaned, his throat constricting as he tried to fight back the tears that burned in his eyes. His palms were red and bloodied, squeezing her hand while curling inwards protectively. He was shaking; a flurry of incoherent speech falling past his lips as he whispered into the shell of her ear.

“-ijah,” she breathed, and his chest strained, free hand moving to cup her jaw as he forced her to look up at him.

“Emma,” he growled, voice watered down and choked up with sorrow, “look at me, okay? D-Don't fucking close your eyes. You're here, you're okay. You're not going a-anywhere.” Amanda took a step forward and Elijah furiously lifted the handgun. “If you fucking take another step, I'll put a bullet through you.”

Elijah was then removing his shirt, smeared in dirt and grass before ripping it in long strips and pulling the redhead up a little so that he could tie the bandage around her torso. He'd take her somewhere safe, where he could tend to her wounds and properly stop the bleeding. She'd be okay, she'd get through this. She was strong.

“Alright! I have had ENOUGH!” Hoffman shouted, glancing over at Amanda. “Elijah Walker, if you do not leave with me right now, I will blow up the dome! With everyone you care about inside.” He didn't even look up, only trying to keep Emma awake with his words.

“Oh no you won't,” a new voice announced, followed by a loud scream and an audible crack. Ryan hovered over Amanda, grabbing at the switch that contained the bomb, shirt ripped to shreds around his form, grime blackening his skin.

“For the love of-” Hoffman started through gritted teeth. “How many of there are you?”

Suddenly Darrius was stepping through the trees, followed by Zia, Rylee, Sol, and Beth. Elijah looked up incredulously, all of them scratched up in bruises and cuts, but stable nonetheless. The older man jaw was taut, eyes narrowed into slits as he took in his unexpected guests.

“Ethan,” he beckoned, with a fake, toothy grin, “I'm you're uncle. Even if your sister was too much of a scum to take on the coveted family name, you can. Follow in the foot steps of your father-”

“I don't want to be like my father,” Ethan petulantly quipped, standing in front of Elijah and Emma, as if a shield.

Instantly, the smile fell away from Hoffman's face, eyes darting around the circle, realizing he was severely outnumbered. With all of his cronies laying in heaps around him, he took one last look at the group before pushing a button on his tie, that surrounded him a thick, glass box of sorts.

“What the fuck?” Rylee's lips formed an 'O', surprise etched on his features from next to Beth.

“This isn't over,” Hoffman threatened from inside of the safeguard, fingers tightened into fists by his side.

“Yeah, yeah, says you and every other bad guy,” Sol responded with an eye roll. “I'd suggest Witness Protection, because if I so much as see you take one step into the light of day, I will remove your entrails and choke you with it, alright?”

The ex-president seemed to pay her no mind, gaze beamed in on Elijah. “You are making a huge mistake, and trust me, you'll feel the consequences later on down the line.”

Then, in less than a second, the glass box disappeared.

[laura]

Ryan stepped away from the shaking form of Amanda, physically disgusted by her presence near him. Since the moment he’d first stepped into the FBI building, he’d always had a healthy dislike for the woman, but now, seeing her apart of the mayhem and destruction, Ryan’s feelings had only escalated. He nodded to Sol as she approached and she was all too happy to knock the blonde out, eliminating the sound of her wailing cries.

No matter how much of a bitch a woman was, Ryan wouldn’t hit one. It was the one rule forever etched into his moral code.

“No, no, no…” Beth ran past him, her voice breaking into a sob before she reached the body of the redhead.
Of Emma.

Only Beth joined Elijah on her knees, the others kept a safe distance away, watching with solemn expressions as they expressed their grief. Landry was talking into his head set, his voice rushed, cursing himself and those on the other end. Ethan was stood over his father’s corpse, features like stone. A moment later, the young man walked away, glancing at Emma as he, too, spoke into his headset.

Ryan wanted to go to Emma’s side, but his feet wouldn’t let him, glued solidly to the spot. The scene reminded him too much of his past, too much of Sarah. Elijah was hunched protectively over Emma just like he had been to his wife, tears he swore he’d never shed now freely streaming down his cheeks as he murmured soft words into her ear.

This was going to end the same way, too.

Shame Landry was the only one heartless enough to voice the truth.

The older man stepped silently into the circle, a hint of sadness in his eyes when he placed a hand onto Elijah’s shoulder. “Don’t give her hope that isn’t there, Elijah.”

Elijah shrugged off the older man's hand violently. "Are you going to fucking help or keep telling me to give up?"

“She’s dying. There’s nothing any of us can do for her now…help won’t come soon enough and the blood loss…prolonging this…it’s cruel.”
Beth choked back a sob. “S-She can’t die. Please.”

Despite the stiffness in his legs, Ryan found himself moving forward, toward the limp legs of his former partner. Lying there, her blood soaked stomach covered by nothing but Elijah’s torn shirt and his bloody hand, Emma looked like a pale shadow of her former self. There was no fire burning in her ember eyes, her skin no longer glowed with a rosy complexion, there was simply no life to her anymore.

Elijah's lips contorted into a scowl. "I'm not giving up on her! I need a needle--something to sow her up until we can find better help."
“Who has one of them on them?” Landry asked incredulously, looking around the small group. “No-one? Shocking.”

“Um…well…I do have…an…erm…” Rylee rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I may have a needle.”
Beth was up in a heartbeat, her hands latching onto his shirt. “What are you waiting for, Ry?! Hand it over!”
“I can’t!” He exclaimed. “I don’t know what’s in it.”
Sol blinked. “You have an injection on you…? What. The. Hell. Rylee?”
“I-I s-stole it!” He quickly stammered. “From the institute. I saw what they used on Elijah – I watched where they pulled the vials from and…I…I took them. But I don’t know if I have the right thing, I mean, they were in the same case, but what if they aren’t the same stuff that healed Eli? I don’t – “

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was holding Emma, Elijah would have been up on his feet, strangling the life out of his young cousin – that much was clear by the look on his face.
“Give me the fucking needle, Rylee. NOW!”

Ryan made short work of the distance between himself and the nervous boy, tugging his backpack from his shoulders in one swift stroke. “You’re willing to chance Emma’s life on it? Selfish little shit.”

Unzipping the beaten bag, Ryan emptied to contents onto the muddy ground beside Emma’s head. His heart lurched when he noticed her eyes were no longer open.

Beth helped him rummage through the crap, then fumble to remove the long, thin needles from their cases. Rylee had managed to steal four in total, three of which were now in use.

Each of their hands shook when they took turns injecting the serum into Emma’s still body – one in each her arms, while Elijah used the third in her stomach, as close to the knife wound as possible.

When the task was done, Beth sat back onto her legs, her bloodied hands still shaking. “Shall we use the forth?”
“It won’t work.” Landry answered. “She’s already de-“

“Shut up!” Elijah’s cry quickly silenced him. “Do not fucking say the word. Don’t you even dare!”

Ryan looked to the last case. They’d all heard what it had done for Elijah; healed his every scar, from the oldest to the newest. He’d walked out like a new man, his health the best it had been in years. Rylee had taken the vials for selfless reasons, but if the group had known he’d had them… well, maybe Dominic, Jenna and Logan wouldn’t have died in that first explosion. Lucas would have killed the man for every last drop of it if it had meant saving his brother.
But would saving them have meant Emma would die in their place?
Fate was a fucked up thing, after all.

Without another thought, Ryan handed the case to Elijah. “Use it.”

“What?” Zia spoke up for the first time, shrugging Darius’ arm away when he tried to silence her. “She’s already dead! Why waste something so precious on a lost cause?! One of us could do with that! Maybe Jenna – “
“Jenna’s dead, you idiot!” Beth snapped.
“So is she!” Zia retorted, pointing down at the floor.
“Say that again and I’m going to punch my fist right through your face!”

Ignorant to the arguing women, Elijah slipped the last needle from its case and jammed it into Emma’s arm.

[Ange Keating]

Epilogue

The candle blazed in Elijah's grasp, the night sky, dark and brilliant, expanding over the field. Bodies were stood in a circle, makeshift tomb stones built to all the lives lost in the effort for freedom. Darrius stood at the hearth of the small crowd, smiling warmly at the graves as he spoke softly. The air was brisk, winter soon coming, although the warmth from the flames kept the weather from being too bothersome. There was a mixture of laughing, crying, remembering, as one by one, they stepped forward, revealing all the secrets and memories specified to each person, setting a flower or piece of memorabilia on their grave.

“Dominic was one of the most laid back people I've ever met. Didn't take shit from anyone, but was always willing to go with the flow,” Darrius said, his voice tender. Zia's arm slid around his torso, hugging him close.

“You okay?” A voice said from beside Elijah, causing him to look down at the red head with a genuine smile. He tucked his hand into the pocket of her jacket, tugging her close until their chests were touching.

“More than okay,” he responded, hand cupped against her cheek.

“You're staring,” she pointed out, ember eyes brilliant against the somber, orange glow of the memorial.

“I know.”

She got up on her toes to kiss him, fingers wound into tufts of blonde hair. His chest swelled at the gesture, just holding her for a moment because he didn't want to let go.

“I don't go easy,” she murmured against his lips, hands sliding to his biceps.

“Tried to tell 'em that,” he quipped back, because his Emma was valiant, strong, brave. She never gave up, never submitted easy. She was as stubborn as she had been in the beginning, as quick-witted. It was a quality he hadn't appreciated at first, until now.

They both turned to face the neat plots of dirt once more, surrounded in a cornucopia of bright gold wheat. After service had finished, the group tightened into a circle, shoulder to shoulder. This signified how close they had gotten in the last few months of knowing each other, how they had offered constant support and protection in a world plagued with danger. No matter where their individual lives ended up taking them, they were all tethered together in a way that was difficult to explain. Darrius nodded, and simultaneously they all blew out their candles, shadowing the land around them in darkness.

~~~

The busiest weeks of Elijah's life had transpired in the last month after Hoffman's disappearance. The South had donated millions of dollars to the reconstruction of the Northern Americas after the true president had regained his rightful control. Concurrently, hundreds of the most brilliant minds had put their heads together to construct the ultimate cure to reverse the brainwashing powers of the chip. Families were already being restored, hoards of people being reverted back to normal in various labs.

All members of The Rebellion had been publicly honored in a televised ceremony, one in which they received medallions and Lifetime Samaritan awards, followed by a plethora of other benefits. Nonetheless, it had been a consensus throughout the group that they were more relieved to be safe and relatively healthy than the recipients of a few shiny pieces of gold (although Darrius was more than pleased that his prison sentence had been pardoned, due to special circumstances, in the process).

All members of the Triad centered in America had been locked away in high security federal prisons, Amanda Thompson being one of them, with little to no chance of parol while investigations still persisted for any missing offenders. In the meantime, there was a global warrant for Hoffman's arrest, law enforcement all over the world keeping an eye out for one of the most highly sought after criminals of all time. Elijah knew he should have been more worried about it, but he had a slight hunch that the older man wouldn't be crossing paths with them again. Especially when there was the overhanging threat that his life would most definitely be challenged if he did.

The excitement in their lives took a much-needed plateau around the holidays, airport terminal buzzing with life as Elijah hauled several bags towards the area in which they were scheduled for flight.

“I can't believe we're seriously living with my parents,” Elijah huffed. “Not exactly how I pictured things panning out at twenty nine.” Naturally his mother had been overjoyed and had texted incessantly after him announcing the news last week.

"It's hardly my dream either, but what other choice do we have right now? It's this or we go bunk up with Rylee and Beth." Emma said with a cringe. "Anything but that."

Elijah absolutely refused to believe that his twenty-three year old step-cousin actually had a decent living space while he didn't. Even if it was actually Beth's apartment and he was only crashing in it, at least he didn't have to live with an overbearing mother. Still, nothing was quite as bad as shaking up in a place with those two.

“Having sex will be infinitely harder, I'll have you know,” Elijah complained. His mother was ruthless when it came to fornication under her roof, and would hardly make an exception for the girl she still thought he only had a purely sexual relationship with.

“We managed to not only save the country, but stay alive in the process. I think we'll find a way.”

He snickered, although nodded in agreement. “I'll hold you to it.”

They soon boarded the plane, together.