𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 | 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬

|♠ 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝗋𝗂𝖾𝖿𝖼𝖺𝗌𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝖺𝗄𝖾 ♠|

♚ 𝐕 ♕

I CAME UP TO HER ROOM AND WATCHED FOR A MOMENT AS SHE FLIPPED THROUGH A BOOK.

She had taken off the sling, somehow. It was lying in a lump by her bed on the floor. She was smiling, turning the pages of the book. Then she came across another page, and she stopped smiling.

I knocked on the doorway, making her turn around. Her expression soured.

I slid my hands into my pockets, cracking a grin. "Is that a diary?"

"It's none of your business, that's what it is," Y/N replied, snapping the book shut and stuffing it in the drawer. She sighed. "So what now?"

I shrugged. "Luther and I agreed that I wouldn't kill Milton Green, or the others."

"Are you serious?" she asked, turning to me, a little bit surprised. "What the hell else are we going to do? We don't have time to make these changes, Five. We only have, like, two days."

"Four, actually."

"Whatever." Y/N slipped her good hand into her blazer pocket, leaning against the bedroom wall. "So what's the new plan, then?"

"We trick Hazel and Cha-Cha into thinking we have the briefcase," I explained, walking into her room and starting to pace. Then I paused and glanced at her with a sigh. "In return, we ask for a word with the Handler."

"Who?"

I scowled. "Were you listening to anything I said earlier?"

She blinked. "When? Yesterday?"

I rolled my eyes, going back to pacing. "She's my former employer from the Commission. And, if we can cut a deal with her, she'll be able to pull some strings to get the apocalypse erased entirely from the time continuum."

"Okay, and if she doesn't accept the deal?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

I stopped pacing again to look at her, her sharp eyes glinting in the dim light. "Then, we're screwed. But we'll figure something out."

"The other plan seems simpler, Five," Y/N urged. "I mean, yeah, I feel sorry for the Milton guy, but I'll end up feeling sorry for us all if this plan doesn't work."

"So you're doubting me."

"If that's how you want to put it, then yeah."

I took a step forward, narrowing my eyes. "Luther's right. We can't just kill him."

"Okay, Five," she sighed, clasping her hands together. I watched her carefully, wondering how long her arm had been healed for. "Let's think about this from a general standpoint. Who would you rather have die? One random, innocent man." She held up a single finger. "Or...seven billion innocent people?"

"Not everyone in the world is innocent," I pointed out.

"That's not my point," she said. "You're seriously risking all our lives?" I didn't reply, and then she shook her head. "Okay, fine. I'll narrow it down a little more. Who would you rather live? Me, or Milton Green?"

I snapped my head up to look at her. "What did you just say?"

Her sharp demeanor faltered, but she kept up her guard. "You heard. Would you rather have me die, or kill Milton Green?"

I would set the world on fire and watch everyone else burn, rather than kill you.

"I'd rather kill Green, and maybe five others," I said instead, but I didn't hesitate.

She blinked, and for a moment, I saw a feeling I'd never seen with her before, right there, displayed on her face. Before I could determine what it was, her regular, unbothered expression returned. "Okay, then, so what about the world or Milton Green?"