ARROW BERLIN
Two days had passed since Ezra gave Arrow the journal their fathers allegedly worked on. She'd spent every minute of those two days reading and understanding its contents. With each turn of a page, the paragraphs and diagrams seemed to get crazier and more unbelievable. The thought that all these things were possible had her mind spinning. The worst part of it all was that there was no one for her to confide in. With her brother uninterested and out of the country, that left her with very few options.
She was still on the fence about Ezra, deciding it would be best to keep him at arm's length for now. He was giving her all this information but Arrow knew he was trying to gain her trust. She didn't forget the reason he came to her in the first place - To get her father's keys. She still had no way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that all he was telling her was true.
Arrow wanted to go off on her own, investigate this place without his company. But she had no idea where it was - She only had the keys to unlock it. She had no clue where to look and the only one with information was Ezra. She thought about using Dean, seeing as he's a detective and a person she trusted. However, she wasn't able to get in touch with him. Her last text unanswered and her call sent straight to voice mail, she figured he'd turned his phone off for a case or something close to that matter.
Ezra had made a point to tell her no hunter friends, but Dean wasn't a hunter and there was a high probability that Ezra was solely referring to Beau.
Beau - There was the possibility of going to the Valentins, but that didn't sit right with her. She no longer felt like she could go to them, not with something this huge anyways. Though she, Beau, and Mr. Valentin were still in good standing, Arrow did not see things going well if she confided in them. She also felt that things won't remain secret for long.
She also rationalized that to get answers, they'd have to go around asking questions, inadvertently exposing the secret. There was also the risk that was Bell. Arrow did not trust her - with everything going on with her, the girl seemed to have thrown all logical behavior out the window. Without being involved in the organization, her list of hunter contacts was small, with no confidentiality guaranteed. She did not have any strong ties with hunters where she could be one hundred percent sure she could trust them.
That left her with Ezra as her only option.
~
Arrow opens her door, a slight scowl on her face.
"Well, hello there sunshine. I see you're in a chipper mood as always," Ezra says to her in greeting.
"Do you plan on always showing up at my house whenever you feel like it?" Arrow asks placing a hand on her hip. "What if I'm not home, hmm?"
"Fair point," He answers with a shrug. "So, have you read enough? Are you all good to move on with things?" He asks her.
"Where is this place of my father's?" Arrow asks.
"I can take you. Just get the keys and we'll leave right now," Ezra answers.
"Tell me where it is first," Arrow argues with him.
"You don't trust me? I'm hurt, after I've given you so much," Ezra responds, Arrow spotting a glimpse of a smile across his features.
"Don't you trust me?" Arrow rebuts.
"You're a bit of a flight risk," He says to her.
"I just want to know where."
"And I want to see the keys. Look, neither of us has the upper hand here. So how about you get the keys, get in my car and we head to the place, yeah?" Ezra proposes.
"Your father," Arrow says folding her arm in front of her.
"What about him?" Ezra asks curiously.
"I want to meet him. Have him answer some questions and explain things," She answers.
"What? I'm not a good enough source of info for you? You wound me," Ezra says to her placing his hand over his heart.
"I'm serious," Arrow says to him ignoring his antics.
"Well, my dad's out of the city right now. He'll be back Wednesday or Thursday. I'm all you got," Ezra replies.
"Fine then, I'll see you and your dad Wednesday or Thursday. Goodbye," Arrow says to him, moving to shut her door close.
"Woah, Woah! Slow down there," Ezra says holding the door. "That's it? Come on! We don't need to wait until my dad returns. I know where the place is, you have the keys - We can move on with matters instead of just sitting around."
"No, we can't, because you won't give me what I want without what I have and I won't give you what you want without what you have," Arrow says with a disinterested shrug, moving to shut her door again. Ezra puts his hand out stopping the door once more, staring down at Arrow who raises a brow questioningly at him.
"You're playing me aren't you?" He says to her with a slight chuckle in his voice. "You are," He says, answering his own question as Arrow made no move to speak. The two stand there staring at each other, Ezra's hand still holding the door open. "You, are being difficult," Ezra says.
"Am I?" Arrow asks innocently in return. They resume their staring match only for the two of them to be distracted by the sound of a car pulling up. They look to the road, Arrow spotting Bell exiting a black car.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Arrow groans out angrily as she watches the girl walk to them.
"I'm going to guess that you're not a fan of her," Ezra says softly as he removes his hand from the door, placing both into his jacket pockets.
Arrow watches Bell walk to them with a friendly smile on her face, Bell's eyes moving from her to Ezra as she timidly brushes her hair behind her ear.
"Hi, I'm Bell, are you a friend of Arrow's?" She says cheerfully as she comes to a stop before them, sticking out her hand to Ezra.
"I'll be in my car till your girl talk is over," Ezra says to Arrow before turning to walk away. "Bell," He says with a nod as he passes her walking to his car, getting in the driver's seat.
"What are you doing here Bell?" Arrow asks doing her best not to sound annoyed.
"Who's that guy? A friend? Is he a hunter?" Bell asks not answering her question.
"He's no one. What are you doing here?" Arrow says in return seeing Bell frown at her response.
"Well, our last chat didn't really end well... I came to talk to you. To have a proper conversation this time. But, I see you've got a friend over, he is a friend isn't he?" Bell says to her.
"What do you want to talk about exactly? The fact that YOU seem to think that I'm responsible for what happened?" Arrow asks her folding her arms.
"Arrow, when you look back at the facts-" Bell begins but Arrow cuts her off angrily.
"When you look back at the facts, Bell. You'll find that YOU were the one who wanted to investigate things. YOU were the one who ran in there although we were outnumbered and only had a handgun each. You have no forgiving or reflecting to do because YOU brought all this on yourself. And it's horrible, it sucks. And I felt deeply for you. And I can't imagine how it must be having your body transition like this. Or how hard it is for you to come to terms with what you are now. But I'm not going to stand here and listen to your nonsense. All the things you did that night sealed your own faith Bell. My actions did not get you turned and the fact that you think that is why we can't have a conversation with each other. Until you can see things for how they are, the way things actually played out... I can't. I can't deal with you nor can I be around you," Arrow says to her.
Arrow watches as Bell's face scrunches in anger, her lips forming a thin line. "You think you're so great. You never make tiny mistakes or mess up, right? You're this great hunter, the star pupil, daddy's perfect little protégé. You're not Arrow! And you need to step off your high horse because, in case you've forgotten - We came here to save your ass. You couldn't handle things yourself and needed saving! My brother risked his life to save yours! We patched you up and let you stay with us!" Bell argues.
"And I truly appreciate that! I do! But that has nothing to do with this!" Arrow yells back gesturing between the two of them. "This is because of that one night and the fact that you can't accept the consequences of your actions. Your actions led to you getting turned! You are trying to place all the blame on me and while I feel sorry for you, I'm not going to let you!" Arrow responds.
"You think you can do no wrong!" Bell screams at her.
"Bell," Arrow begins but Bell cuts her off.
"You feel sorry for me, huh? Well, you have a damn funny way of showing it." She says with a humorless chuckle.
"Bell, we have nothing to discuss," Arrow begins softly noticing that Bell's eyes were switching between blue and glowing yellow. Arrow wearily looks on as she moves to run a hand through her hair, seeing that her nails were changed. Bringing her hand in front of her, Bell lets out a sigh as she inspects her Lycan claws. She takes slow steps closer toward Arrow, eyes still on her hands.
"You don't know what it's like, Arrow. You can't begin to understand how it feels," She begins. "Coursing through me, getting stronger every day as the full moon gets closer. The strength, the emotions... my senses. In the beginning, I thought for sure I'd never even let myself consider a full change under the moon..."
"And now?" Arrow asks softly.
"Now, I can hear your heart rate picking up pace."
"So you'd turn. Become the very thing you hunt?" Arrow asks her, looking into her glowing eyes.
"Become the very thing we hunt, you mean. Would you hunt me, Arrow?" Bell asks with a tilt of her head, eyes locking with Arrow's. Talking slowly and softly, she continues "Would you put a bullet in me without so much as a second thought? As if I were just another filthy abomination?" Arrow doesn't respond but she holds Bell's gaze, unwavering.
"Would you team up with my brother to take me out? I wonder if he will have the balls to do such a thing. Will my father ever forgive him if he did?" She says out loud. "Do you think my father could kill his only daughter? He wouldn't have much of a choice now would he - Hunter law means he'll have to end me if I turn. But would you, Arrow? Would you kill me if I succumb to the moon's call?"
"If I have to," Arrow whispers her answer to Bell earnestly. Bell studies her, seeing only truth in her words, and gives her a bitter smile. "Same here I suppose," She says, her eyes finally reverting to their normal shade.
"Once upon a time, we would've taken a bullet for each other," Bell says with a sigh before turning her back to Arrow, walking away without saying another word to her. Arrow watches her get into her car and drive away, not sparing her another glance.
Arrow stood there in shock. It seemed clear to her what Bell's plan was. She talked too positively about the change for Arrow to think for a second that she wouldn't go through with the change.
Becoming a Lycan is a death sentence in the hunter community. There was no tolerance, no exceptions in the matter. Hunters aren't to be Lycans.
There'd be no way Bell could live as a Lycan here, with her family - Around hunters who are familiar with the Valentin name. She'd have to flee if she wanted to live that life.
Arrow acknowledges that the alternative was not a better one. There was no way to live without changing. If someone missed the first shift they'd have at most a week left - Experiencing continuous excruciating pain as their body physically tried to change into a form it could never achieve.
Despite the choice made, for a hunter, death would be certain - A lose - lose situation.
~
NAOMI REID
It'd been quiet since Mellissa and her husband dropped the case against Naomi. She hadn't seen or heard from them since, something she was glad for. Her days had been relatively normal as she spent her free time between being with Jensen and with Avery and Sean where she'd train and learn more about Lycans. She'd been trying to get in touch with Calvin but had no luck with that. Walking into the firehouse, Naomi spots her brother standing at the door. "Hey bro," She greets and she walks up to him.
"Hey. Come with me," He says to her in a serious tone, walking away. Naomi follows her brother to his office, all the while wondering what all this could be about.
"Might want to take a seat for this," He say gesturing to the bed as he sat on his chair.
"Tell me what's up. You're starting to worry me," Naomi says to him uneasily.
Kai lets out a heavy sigh as he goes to speak. "It's about Mellissa," He begins. "Her husband was by earlier while you guys were out on a call. She lost the baby. Two days ago, according to the husband. He came by because she's been asking to see you and-"
"Stop," Naomi says to him, her voice rising slightly. She stares off in shock processing what her brother had just told her. "I'm sorry she lost the baby, I truly am, but I'm not going. Why would I?" Naomi says finally. "Thanks for telling me," She says turning to walk out of Kai's office.
"That's it?" Kai calls out behind her as she walks away.
"Yeah," She shouts back to him with a glance.
As she walks into the common area, she hears her name being called out. "Naomi, get over here," Hose shouts out to her.
"What's up?" She says to the group of men as she walks toward them.
"We need your thoughts," Hose begins. "Geo and I are looking for business ventures to get into. You know make a little cash on the side. Do something worthwhile in our downtime."
"Okay, so what you guys got so far?" She asks, taking a seat.
"Okay. So first on our list, we have flipping houses."
"Wait, what?" Naomi laughs out. "Flipping houses? You two?"
"My wife watches a lot of those house makeover shows. I'm telling you there's nothing to it," Hose argues.
"And I'm telling you right now, that one is a big no," Naomi says to them.
"See, I told you it was a bad idea!" Geo says hitting his friend in the shoulder.
"Ambulance 31-" The overhead speakers begin to blare. Naomi hops up from her seat, heading to the ambulance, Avery close behind her.
~
Arriving at the address, an apartment complex, a young teenage girl runs out to them. "Over here, please hurry!" She cries out. Naomi and Avery follow the girl inside, running up a flight of stairs. On the second floor, they come to a boy passed out on the floor.
"I came home from work and saw him like this. He's from apartment 2A," She informs them. Naomi and Avery get to work on the boy, taking note of his blue lips and cold skin. Realizing the boy was having an overdose, Avery prepares a syringe to inject him with the medicine needed to combat the effects. As they work, a loud crash sounds from further down the hall, followed by a cry out for help. At her feet, the boy gasps awake, the same time another teenager emerges from an apartment. Naomi makes eye contact with the kid for a few seconds before he drops to the floor convulsing.
"Looks like we have another," She says as she gets up heading to him. Behind her, Avery tells the girl to stay with their first victim, following behind her. Reaching the boy, they make quick work of injecting him and calling for a second ambulance.
Hearing a scream coming from the room ahead of them, the two share a look.
Rising, Naomi pushes the slightly ajar door open. "Hey, Av. What's the dosage to knock out a Lycan in a drug-induced rage episode?" She asks softly to Avery as she states at the scene ahead.
In the room, a teenage boy paced the room screaming and destroying everything in sight. His eyes were a dark, almost muddied shade of yellow. The veins around his eyes were visible as they were black and bulging.
Naomi watches as he brought his claws to his face, scratching himself - The cuts healing instantly.
"Sean never heals like that," Naomi mumbles as the teenager goes back to trashing the room.
"No Lycans heal like that!" Avery responds.
"What the hell are we going to do? Stepping in that room will be suicide," Naomi says to her partner.
"We have to come up with something fast," Avery comments.
Just then, the teenage boy let out a loud growl as he turned to face the open window of the apartment. "Oh shit," Naomi mumbles as she could see where the situation was heading. Without a second thought, the boy runs full speed to the window, throwing his body against it.
~
JENSEN CARTER
Saying goodbye to his last trainee for the day, Jensen assists the other workers in cleaning up the gym. On the main floor, the last couple of people begin to end their exercises as the gym was to close in thirty minutes. Waving goodbye to the front desk clerk, Jensen closes the door behind her, locking it and turning on the closed sign. He heads to Dalton's office, giving two knocks before entering. "Everything's taken care of. I'll be in the car," He says to his friend who was going through some papers.
"Okay, let me just sign two more things and I'll be out," Dalton replies. Jensen nods, collecting his things and heading to his car.
"Mr. Carter!" He hears a familiar voice call out to him.
"Danny? What the hell?" He replies in shock as he looks at the boy.