All Night Long (Olympus Drive Chronicles)

Time 1:00

Red

"I hear more sirens. This way."

"This cannot possibly be the most effective way of finding my dad," I growl, as I follow my grandmother (I guess) through the dark streets.

"It is now shhh. I am listening for screams," she says.

"How good is your hearing?" I ask. She glares at me.

"I'm tired," Ev says. They are on their dad's shoulders almost asleep.

"They stay with me," I growl to him because he looked like he was going do his vanishing thing.

"I want to help. I'm just tired. Can I have coffee please?" Ev asks, hopefully.

"No, you're too little I think," I say.

"I am not!"

"Neither of them need coffee," my grandmother points to Ev and their dad, "Now please be quiet."

We obey. I drift to walking behind everyone else because I'm sulking. I don't fully trust her but I am worried. My dad said to wait there. I should have at least waited for Omar to get there. He's texted me a million times telling me not to go places with people I don't know, scratch that don't go places at all and please respond also is he going to get to know who the people we left tied up in the flat are? I replied that I'm fine and to stand down. That did not make him feel better at all apparently.

My phone rings. An unknown number? I answer it.

"Hello?" I say while three people tell me shh.

"Red? Are you all right?"

"Dad? Where are you?" I ask while my grandmother tries to wrestle me for the phone.

"It doesn't matter---are you okay?"

"I'm fine what is going on?" I ask, suddenly getting angry.

"I don't even know I'm sorry I'll be home in a few hours I promise just watch Ev for me and get some sleep I'll be back soon," he says. He sounds like he's on the subway but it's hard to tell a sixty year old woman is trying to wrestle me to the pavement and nearly succeeding.

"No! Tell me where you are I'll come I want to help—,"

"I'm fine I just need ---I'm fine. I'll be home in a few hours and if I know what's going on then I'll tell you."

"I want to help," I growl.

"Listen, I do a shit job of parenting you and keeping you safe in general and I know you don't need keeping safe or me, but let me do this all right? Let me protect you---for me not for you, okay?"

"No! Absolutely not!"

"Stay in the flat, call Omar if something weird happens he loves that—,"

"I already called him," I groan.

"Why?"

"I don't know some weird people in suits showed up and started arresting me or something so I beat them up and Ev helped me tie them up but we can't tell Brianna the last bit she might not like it."

"Oh, all right then you're already an accessory— good job Ax---um just stay in the house okay? I'm going to get rid of this phone I don't want them finding you, again. I'm really sorry just take care of your cousin and wait I'll be back in the morning."

"No –Dad—" I want to tell him I already left the house.

"I do love you, you know? Even if I do a shit job of showing it like—okay all the time?"

"Dad I love---" he's already hung up so I let his horrible mother take the phone.

"Is Uncle Axel okay?" Ev asks, bouncing around. They were cheering me on through the entire fight with my grandmother. Their father was taking pictures I don't know why.

"He's hung up! Why did you give it to me if he's gone?" she asks.

"Because I don't know if he even knows who you are and I wanted to talk to him he's MY dad," I say, folding my arms angrily.

"He was my son before he was your father!"

"So?" I glare at her.

"Did—d-d-did---did," Ev's father is trying.

"Did he say where he is?" Ev offers. Their dad pats their head in appreciation.

"No, he didn't, he says I'm to wait at the flat," I say.

"Fuck that," my grandma, everyone.

"He told me to again, but I'm worried, I don't like disobeying him though," I say.

"Sweet child, I can count on one hand the number of times your precious father has actually done as he was told in his past ten lives," my grandmother says, very nicely.

"She—s-he—she---she makes—she makes a---makes a good point," Ev's dad says, shrugging.

"No she really doesn't—whatever let's just press on," I sigh. I am in so much trouble.

Viktor

"We are going to be in so much trouble."

"They aren't following us, it's a coincidence. Teddy and his—terrorist—girlfriend happened to be out tonight doing whatever crimes, it's fine," I say, confidently.

"Please understand I am not comfortable being in the same city as those two. I wasn't to begin with, however," Evans shudders, "I realize I'm probably gonna get killed before the night is out, but I'd like to do it uneventfully and those people don't do painless deaths."

"Really, I think you're giving Teddy too much credit. Maybe he works for frightening people, but I was sure the monster got him. He's not really very safe in his person to be out let alone hunting other people," I say.

"I'm just relaying what several hours of CBTs taught me. I don't pretend to have remembered all of them. But did get the gist which was that it is the Commission's formal stance to RUN if you see that person. So I did," Evans says.

"I trust you! I'm just saying it's odd is all---ignore me," I sigh.

"No you could be right I'd just rather lower our chances of getting killed."

"Precisely, now is not the night to figure out if my former friend has joined forces with some international---you keep calling them terrorists I thought they did humanitarian things you said---?"

"Yeah and in doing so they kill people. They have a nice mission and absolutely sadistic methods," Evans shivers, "That's ten hours of CBTs I'll be happy relay some other time."

"Right. Fine, we'll do that on the airplane. We're doing this!" I say, cheerfully, "We haven't encountered any COSA agents, we've still got your phone, you haven't had an asthma attack in an hour, I've got my grappling hooks we're doing really really well----fuck my life."

Evans just screams as my father's men grab him and start cuffing him.

"You're a trip tonight, Vik," Angelica, not at all amused by me.

"Come on," I sigh.

"What do you think you're doing? It's the middle of night why can't you do these things in the day time like normal? I bid night shift because you usually aren't like this," Peter, another one of my father's guards, groans, as he cuffs me.

"Let him go, he was just walking with me he doesn't know anything," I sigh.

"Orders are to capture and detain anyone who knows you're alive," Angelica says, "Come on now. Come quietly and I'll won't tell your dad how far from the tower we caught you."

"Just let the guy go he doesn't know anything---It's all right Evans I'll get you out of this," I say, as I hear him wheezing. "He has asthma let him have his inhaler."

"He'll live."

"I'm okay," Evans wheezes, as the shove him the back of their van, "It was a fun ride."

"No I won't let them hurt you!" I say, as they drag me into he back of an SUV. The problem is, I don't know how I'm going to accomplish that.