To Better The Shattered; Scott McCall [2] ✔

2.00 In Which She Joins The Family Business

They were slightly trickier, and the force kind of hurt her arm, but she was much too busy imagining Derek's face on the target to care.

Gerard found her again soon enough, Allison in tow, and her cousin gave Ellie the darkest look she'd ever seen.

"Are we doing this then, or what?" she said slowly, voice still thick from tears.

Ellie met her grim expression with one of her own. "We are."

They'd both changed into more suitable clothes: black jeans, black tank tops and black boots (a lot of black to match the rest of the hunting crew; that was all they seemed to wear).

Everyone gathered together, piling the weapons in the middle of one of the tables and discussing strategy. The main problem was obviously that they had no idea where Derek was.

Ellie's phone dinged, the sound shrill in the tension of the room. She muttered an awkward apology to her grandfather, who'd turned to look, before glancing down at it.

Received Scott / 06:57pm Apr

At the sheriff's station w/ Derek. Need the bestiary for kanima. Come asap xxx Scott :)

Frowning, Ellie showed the text to her uncle. "I just got this message," she said.

"From Scott?" Chris asked.

"No, no, it can't be him. He wouldn't text me on this phone, and he definitely wouldn't mention Derek," she said, voice leaving no room for argument. "This has to be someone else."

"The sheriff's station?" Gerard read, eyes narrowed.

Chris scowled, "If Derek's really there, I doubt it's willingly."

"You think Jackson-" Allison stopped, clearing her throat. "The kanima. Do you think that the kanima is there, too?"

"Maybe," Ellie's uncle dropped a copy of the blueprints of the station on the table. "And the one controlling him is probably there, too."

"How many do they keep on at the night shift?" Gerard asked.

"Since budget cuts?" Chris shrugged, "Four, at the most. My guess would be, they're either dead, or paralysed, by now."

"This might just be the confluence of events we've been waiting for," the older man said slowly.

His son glared, "Confluence of conflagration?"

"I'm open to both," Ellie's grandfather said.

"What do we do now?" Ellie asked, breaking into their slightly charged conversation. They didn't have time for arguments; who knew how long both Derek and the kanima would be in the same place?

"We should be asking you that question," Gerard told her lowly. "With Victoria gone, that responsibility falls to you both," he nodded to Allison, "now. Women are raised to be leaders, Ellie."

"Not at their ages," Chris protested.

His father didn't even look in his direction. "They're almost eighteen. And they know the difference between revenge and retribution, don't you, girls? Make the decision from a vantage point of strategy over emotion, and we'll follow your lead."

Ellie shared a look with Allison, and that was all they needed in order to come choose what to do. "I want Derek dead," Allison answered hollowly.

"What about Scott?" Chris asked, eyes pleading with the teenagers. He obviously didn't want them to be involved in this, but that wasn't his decision. Not anymore.