CONTROL ➳ D. HALE [2]

27 ; unexpected intruder

27 ➳ UNEXPECTED INTRUDER

"My father said that all of the Katashi evidence is being moved to federal lockup by an armored car tonight. It'll probably be within the next few hours," Allison offered as she led the rest of the group into her and her father's home. Chris Argent and Derek had been kept in custody after the explosion at the sheriff office. After Elise had left the office, she learned that Scott had found Stiles earlier that day, but he hadn't been himself. He'd then attacked Scott and Kira, Deaton arriving just in time to deliver a dose of a lichen that could temporarily weaken the nogitsune so Stiles could remain in control. That had ended with Stiles convincing his father to admit him to Eichen House until the rest of the group could find a way to get to a scroll with the information needed to exorcise a nogitsune. The scroll just so happened to be included in the belongings of a deceased Yakuza member.

"Wait, we're going to rob an armored car?" Elise questioned, her eyes wide and a mischevious grin on her lips. "I'm so in."

Before anyone could protest, a voice sounded from the end of the hall, drawing everyone's attention. "Well," Lydia said, no one having heard her enter, "we're going to try."

"So," Scott offered, a nervous look in his eyes. "What's the plan?"

"None of us know the route that they're going to take," Lydia explained as she and Allison led the group into Chris's study. "If Allison can somehow get one of her dad's trackers onto the truck, then we can follow it." Elise peered down at the table Lydia and Allison stopped next to. Displayed on the desk was a map of Beacon Hills. A small bridge was circled in black pen.

"What happens there?" Elise asked, pointing to the circled location.

"We attack them?" Aiden guessed.

"No," Lydia sighed in exasperation. "You guys will have your bikes out in the street to make it look like you had an accident. When the driver gets out to help..."

"We steal the car?" Elise guessed.

"No!" Allison and Lydia exclaimed in unison.

"You'll distract him," Lydia explained slowly. "Then, Scott will-" Lydia froze as Aiden opened his mouth again to make another guess as to the next step of the plan. The girl narrowed her eyes at him in a venomous glare, prompting him to slowly close his mouth. Lydia resumed, "Scott will get the back door open and Elise will go in to grab Katashi's finger."

"This is a horrible plan," Ethan frowned.

"Don't worry," Elise chuckled dryly. "With us, nothing ever goes as planned."

Though everyone else in the room seemed doubtful about the plan, Lydia and Allison took a step back from the table, reassuring grins marking their faces. "Well, let's get going, shall we?"

➳

Elise's feet pounded against the pavement, adrenaline filtering through her veins. Of course, something went wrong. Something always goes wrong. She'd been joking when she'd said it earlier, but now it seemed that she was right. Elise had been waiting with Lydia and the twins when they'd heard it. Well, more like the twins had heard it. Fighting. A lot of it.

The four of them skidded to a halt as they turned toward the loading dock Scott and Allison were meant to be waiting at. "Stop," Elise whispered, the sounds of fighting now evident to her ears. She eyed the twins, then her eyes flicked to the balcony above the loading dock. "You two go up there. Lydia and I will go in from here," she instructed. "You can get the jump on whoever it is."

The twins nodded and took off toward the path that would lead to the balcony above as Lydia flashed Elise a hesitant look. "Are you sure it's the best idea separating the two people with no supernatural strength from the two that have a lot of it?"

"No," Elise confessed as they inched forward. "But I tend to make things move without touching them when I get nervous, so we'll be fine. I think."

"That's reassuring," Lydia said.

Elise was about to reply in an equally sarcastic manner when a cry of pain sounded from the loading dock. Elise and Lydia flashed each other nervous looks before taking off toward the source of the noise. They entered the loading dock in time to see Aiden and Ethan tackle the attacker away from Scott.

"Allison!" Lydia gasped, instantly sprinting toward where her friend rested against the brick wall. Elise dropped next to her brother, helping him to sit.

"I'm fine," Scott protested. "Get Kira." Elise flashed her brother a hesitant look, but it seemed as if he was already healing, so Elise did as he asked.

"Kira, are you alright?" Elise asked as she dropped next to the girl. Kira offered a slight nod and accepted Elise's help getting to her feet. Kira had shown up at the McCall house as Elise and Scott were leaving to meet the rest of the group, insisting that she came along and helped. Elise had to admit, the girl was persistent.

"Ethan, Aiden, stop!" Scott ordered, prompting the twins to pause in their attack on the intruder.

"He can come after us!" Aiden protested.

"Scott's right," Elise said. "We came here to help our friend. Not to kill somebody."

At that, the twins took a step back from the attacker. Scott leaned forward, kneeling down to the stranger's height. Elise watched as he plucked an object from the man's breast pocket.

The finger.

➳

"Does it say anything about how we can save Stiles?" Scott asked. The boy leaned against the veterinary office counter next to his sister as Deaton read over the scroll they'd found within Katashi's finger.

Deaton's gaze didn't leave the scroll in his hands as he responded. "Well, my Japanese isn't perfect, but it looks like there is. I'm not sure you two will like it, though."

"If it saves Stiles, I'm all for it," Elise said.

Deaton flashed the two siblings a hesitant look before lowering the scroll. "One method of expelling a nogitsune is to change the body of its host."

"Change?" Elise wondered. "What kind of change? Like something physical?"

Deaton shook his head, "Something much more than that."

Scott's lips parted slightly as he inhaled a sharp breath. "By changing him into a werewolf."

➳

Gah, these chapters have been so short lately, but I feel like so much of each episode is about Stiles and clearly Elise can't be a part of those scenes and I hate jumping between episodes in chapters because time passes in between each episode and I just feel like I can't write that time jump well enough to make it work? Also this chapter was a mess oops. Anyway, we're almost done with this season. I'll probably post like 5 or so more chapters and then THE NEXT BOOK WILL BE OUT. It's so crazy to think that in a month or two I'll be on the third part of this series! The fourth season has so much potential for Elise and I'm not going to say much, but I will say that you guys are going to meet a lot of new characters and I'm so excited because I've already made their chapter drafts in my OC book and I can't wait for you guys to get to know them and love them (but maybe hate them idk)!!!!!
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Feedback is most appreciated <3