ARROW BERLIN
Arrow scrutinizes the group before her as she takes the tablet from the team leader. "Each of you will write a detailed report for me, and you will have no communication with one another until after you've handed me the report. If I find out you tried to talk to each other, I will take it as a sign you're trying to conspire, and you will face the consequences of such transgressions. You all will be suspended from going on any missions until I clear you. Do I make myself clear?!" She says to them sternly, eyeing each one separately.
Each hunter nods in understanding, Arrow turning to Nicholas, who was leaning against her desk - His arms folded, face stern and intimidating. Walking toward him, she stops close enough to whisper, "I don't trust them. Will you make sure everyone stays in line?" She asks lowly for him alone to hear.
"You got it, Berlin," He says with a nod before pushing himself off the desk. "Let's go!" He orders roughly, making the hunters scamper out of Arrow's office. With a glance behind him, he gives her a final nod before closing the door as he exits.
Arrow lets out a sigh, going to sit on her office chair. The past few weeks had been a mess, to say the least. Her uncle Elmann was still behaving erratically, making scenes and causing speculation and rumors to run rampant through the organization.
Hunters boldly questioned his sanity, leading abilities, and power. Because of this, Arrow had to take over, and though that was her original plan and the end goal - This was not the way she envisioned the transition. Elmann's behavior and her dicey history made things difficult, hunters questioning and watching, waiting for a slip-up.
To her surprise, Nicholas was at her side through it all - acting as her chief of staff with his stern face and air of intimidation. It was not something she asked of him, but it was a role she was grateful he took. Their unspoken power dynamic worked well enough for the two - And though he questioned and contradicted her in private, they were a united front when it came to dealing with the hunters and any public matters.
It'd taken some effort, but Arrow managed to implement some changes to her liking . Some gave her a hard time, but nothing she and Nicholas couldn't handle. Those who really couldn't stand it left, something Arrow did not see as a loss.
Going through the files on her desk, her eyes land on Wyatt's folder. With everything going on, she wasn't able to put her all into the investigation, and there were no clues for her to follow. Picking up the file, Arrow places it in her desk's drawer - Too much time had gone by, and the investigation futile. As she goes through the rest of the documents, her phone begins to ring. Seeing an unfamiliar number, she hesitates before answering.
"Hello?" She answers in a level tone.
"Arrow?" She hears a familiar voice gasp out. "Arrow, it's Ezra! I need your help!" He rushes out to her, Arrow hearing the distress in his voice.
"Ezra? What's going on?"
Instead of an answer, Arrow hears him grunt and scream out in pain, the call ending abruptly.
"Ezra!" Arrow calls into her phone, though the call had already been disconnected, her mind struggling to understand what just happened. Jumping up from her seat, she quickly makes her way to the IT department of the organization. Spotting James, one of the techs she'd known the longest, she heads to him.
"James, I need a favor. Can you trace this number?" She rushes out.
"Yeah, on it!" James responds, typing away on his computer - No questions asked. Arrow watches on anxiously until James stops typing, a map with a highlighted triangle popping up on his screen. "Here!" James begins, "It's a few miles past Clearmeadow. Plenty forest area, satellite shows a compound right there," He says, pointing at the screen. There are no clear roads, but there might be a trail to it.
"Send this to my GPS for me right away."
"No problem."
"Thanks!" She says to him before grabbing her phone. "And James?"
"Already erased," James replies to her with a wink, Arrow nodding in return.
~
"Berlin, what's going on?" She hears Nicholas ask her as he enters the room. Not stopping, she continues to shove weapons into the duffle bag as she answers him, "A friend is in trouble. They called me for help."
"Who? Where?"
"No one, you know, and I don't know where exactly. The coordinates are in my GPS. Did you deal with the hunters?" She says to him, her question shocking him.
"Yes, I dealt with the hunters. I have their statements, and they've been sent off until further notice... What sort of trouble is your friend involved in?" He responds to her.
"I'm not sure."
"You're not sure?! Yet you're ready to go for them. I'm assuming it involves Lycans. Are you carrying hunters?"
"No."
"You'll obviously be outnumbered."
"I'm just going to get him out. I can do that on my own."
"Him?"
"Listen Nich-"
"You could get the organization involved in whatever mess your friend got himself in! We don't need that kind of trouble right now!"
"I'm not leaving him at their mercy, and I won't drag the organization into it either. End of conversation Nicholas. I'm going."
"Fine then, I'm coming with you."
"What?"
"End of conversation Berlin. I'm coming, " He says, mirroring her words.
"Fine then."
~
NAOMI REID
Waving goodbye to Avery and Sean, Naomi heads to her car, parked on the side street of the firehouse - Bidding goodbye to firefighters on her way out as well. "Hey, wait up!" She hears a voice shout out to her, turning to see Josh Kennedy jogging toward her. Naomi lets out a soft sigh as she'd been trying her best to avoid her brother's replacement.
"Hi there," He says as he reaches her. "We haven't gotten the chance to speak really... since I've started. I know there might be a little animosity between us, but I think if we get to know each other better, we could get past that."
"Animosity?"
"Yeah, well... I've taken over your brother's position. I heard things were a bit...turbulent between you two before he left." Josh explains.
"Hmm, heard anything else?" Naomi asks with a sparing him a gaze.
"No, I-"
"There's no animosity between us. My brother's not here, and someone needs to fill his position in the meantime. It's a firehouse, not a high school." Naomi replies dryly.
"You say that, but the glare in your eyes tells a different story." Josh jokes awkwardly.
"I don't mean to be harsh, it's nothing. Look, our communication out on call isn't affected, so I'd say we're fine," Naomi says dismissively with a shrug. "Don't worry about it. See you at the next shift." She says, turning to leave.
"Well," He begins again, walking alongside Naomi, "I think our communication could be better. How about...uh, lunch, tomorrow? Break the ice a little bit, and get to know each other better... Maybe I could even persuade you to get me on your fellow firefighters' good sides."
"I doubt I'd be the one to get them to like you, so throw that plan out the window," Naomi answers as she reaches the car, unlocking it.
"Alright, but we can still do tomorrow... lunch, " Josh says hopefully.
"Got plans with my boyfriend," Naomi answers, though it wasn't true as she and Jensen didn't have any plans.
Opening her door, she gets in her car, glancing back at Josh Kennedy. "See you next shift, Lieutenant." She says to him, Josh putting a hand on the door before she could shut it herself. Leaning down to her slightly, "See you next shift, Naomi." He says before standing straight to shut the door for her. Josh gives her wave, a small smile on his face. Not wanting to linger, Naomi starts her car, pulling off from her parking spot - heading home to her loft.
~
Walking into her building, Naomi notices right away the feeling of eyes boring into her back. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up, an uneasy panic starting to take over her senses. They'd never come to her building before - Now they knew where she lived. Not looking behind her, Naomi heads into the elevator, pressing the button four floors down from her loft. She notices a man just past the elevator doors, standing to the side.
He makes no move to enter, but as the doors shut, Naomi sees his eye go to the display above the door. Once the elevator stops, Naomi runs out and to the staircase, sprinting her way to her floor. As she passes the elevator on her level, she sees the display of the second lift stop on the floor she'd just come out on.
Quickly heading to her door, she watches the hall before locking herself in. Hands sweaty and slightly out of breath, Naomi leans against the door. They'd not backed off as she hoped. The problem was officially out of hand now as their efforts were increasing.
The shrill of her ringtone makes her jump in fright, letting out a small shriek as she did. Rummaging through her bag, she fumbles with the device a bit as she pulls it out. Seeing Jensen's name on the caller ID, she answers the call, clearing her throat before she speaks. "Jensen, hi." She says, trying her best to make her tone sound level as she walks to her couch.
"Hey. How are you? How was your day today? Jensen replies casually.
"Oh? Um, my day was alright...uneventful... which is a good thing, I guess. You know. It wasn't too busy, our calls were pretty regular, it was Hose's turn to cook today, he burnt the food, as usual...don't know why we keep letting him in the kitchen..." She rushes out distractedly.
"What's wrong?" Jensen asks, his tone serious, Naomi's mouth falling open in surprise. Regaining her composure, she replies with a "Nothing, why?" to which Jensen scoffs lightly, letting her know he wasn't buying it.
Naomi hears Jensen begin to say something to her, but the loud knocking at her door interrupts him. "Just a sec, shh!" She whispers into the phone before slowly moving off the couch. Not expecting anyone to drop by, she assumes the whole thing to be some ploy by the hunters following her. Another round of knocks sounds at the door, Naomi pulling out her newly bought weapon and slips it onto her hand. She debates in her head whether she should head to the peephole or not. More knocks sound as Naomi thinks her predicament through, deciding against heading near the door as it may give her presence away.
A few seconds pass with no more knocks, Naomi tiptoeing over to look through her peephole. Seeing the hallway empty, she lets out a sigh of relief - double-check her locks and head back to the couch.
Bringing the phone back to her ear, she knows there'd be no way Jensen would let that slide without an explanation. And although she'd been trying to keep him from getting on the hunters' radar, she was running out of options - And she could not live like this.
~
After much coaxing, Naomi finally agrees to meet Jensen at a coffee shop - Her choosing the central location rather than his suggestions of him coming to her or meeting each other at his gym. Putting him in danger by just agreeing to meet up, she didn't want to add salt to injury and lead the hunters right to him or his place of work. She'd given him a rundown of the situation, but of course - Hearing that he could be in danger did not deter him. Uneasy about the meat-up, Naomi knew she'd never forgive herself if something were to happen to him because of her.
Taking the stairs, Naomi exits her building, doing her best to be vigilant and inconspicuous at the same time. Seeing an old lady board the bus at the street's corner, Naomi makes the split-second decision to do the same - leaving her car behind, satisfied when she sees no one boarding behind her.
~
Arriving at the coffee shop, Naomi's eyes scan the area, spotting Jensen sitting at one of the outside tables. Walking up to him, he stands to greet her - Naomi throwing herself into his embrace. Emotionally exhausted, she shoves her face deep into his jacket, taking in the faint scent of his cologne.
"You're going to start from the top, Naomi. And you're not going to leave out a single detail. And then? Then I'm going to deal with your problem and put an end to it." He says to her, his voice vibrating with subtle growls.
Opting not to sit at the shop, Jensen and Naomi sit in his car as she details everything to him - stressing the fact she thought it'd all blow over soon enough. Making promises to deal with the matter, Jensen suggests they head out, noting the fatigue on her features. Feeling better in his company, Naomi agrees, relaxing in the passenger seat as he drives off.
Leaning her head against the cool glass of the window, Naomi only just realizes how late it'd gotten. Their conversation in the car was longer than she thought. Her eyes drifted to the sky, noticing for the first time the fullness of the bright shining moon. Getting lost in its beauty, she almost doesn't notice the series of strange turns they begin to take. Sitting up straighter, she looks over to Jensen questioningly.
"We have company," Jensen says, answering her unspoken question as he glances in the rearview mirror.
"Shit! How did they even...I left my car, no one got on the bus after me! I-" Naomi hisses.
"It ends tonight, love. I'm putting an end to it." Jensen says to her, his eyes meeting hers briefly before focusing on the road once more.
"They'll have weapons, Jensen. Weapons and poisons!"
"It'll be fine."
"You can't know that! Where are you taking us?"
"Well, we can't exactly deal with this in the middle of the city," Jensen responds lightly.
"I don't think this is a good idea!" Naomi says to him, getting more anxious by the minute.
"They aren't giving us much of a choice here." He answers.
"I don't want you to get hurt or killed! These, they, we-"
"Listen," Jensen says, cutting off Naomi's stammering. "I need you to remember it's still me, okay? I'll be protecting you, and I won't hurt you -" Jensen says to her.
"What?" Naomi asks, cutting him off in confusion, "Remember it's you? What are you going on ab-. You're going to shift, aren't you?"
Feeling the car begin to slow, Naomi looks around in panic. No longer in the populated areas of Tares, Jensen unbuckles his seatbelt. Reaching over to her side, he opens the glove compartment, pulls out a gun, and hands it to her. "Do you know how to use this?" He asks gently.
"Oddly enough, yes. I know the basics...my aim isn't horrible." Naomi answers, taking the weapon, her brain struggling to process everything going on.
"I want to ask you to take the car and leave once things begin, but I know you won't. So, while I take care of them, I need to make sure you could take care of yourself. I'm not expecting you to end anyone. Just keep any threats away from you until I get to them." Jensen says to her softly. "Okay?"
"What if they get you?"
"They're not going to get me, Naomi." With that, Jensen brings the car to a complete stop, the bright headlights of the vehicles behind them shining on the car. Grabbing her chin, he kisses her fervently, the sounds of car doors opening and shutting making him pull away - The headlights behind turning off.
With yellow eyes, Jensen plants a kiss on her lips and exits the car. Naomi's heart hammers against her rib cage as she turns to look behind her, seeing the hunters standing near their vehicle, Jensen standing right near his.
"We see the girl hasn't learned her lesson!" One of them shouts, his voice echoing slightly in the space around them. "But this, this makes sense! No wonder she sympathized with the scum and left our brother to die. No problem, one less Lycan, one less mutt sympathizer. It all works out!"
"Ah shit," Naomi mumbles, heart beating fast.
~
Things play out quickly after his words, Naomi's mind running a mile a minute as she stumbles out of the car in a panic at the sounds. She didn't witness the shift, but the sheer size of Jensen's Lycan form has her staggering in shock as she watches him attack the nearest hunter.
With no time to truly take the details of his beast, Naomi focuses on the fight - Gun ready and raised at the hunters who were charging at Jensen - their plan obviously to outnumber and overwhelm Her finger pulls the trigger as growls and screams fill the night.
Clipping one in the shoulder, she aims for another, getting him in the leg - none of her shots are lethal but effective. Lessening the threats and giving Jensen the time he needed. Feeling as if she were on autopilot, she raises the gun to shoot the one who'd gotten up in the leg.
A gasp escapes her as someone tackles her to the ground from behind, the gun flying out of her hand and skidding away from her. "How frigging many are there!" Her inner voice screams as a lady climbs on top of her, weighing her down.
"This is where fraternizing with those abominations gets you!" She hisses scornfully as she brings her own gun to Naomi's head. She begins to speak again, Naomi tuning her out as her hands go to the pocket of her jacket, pulling out her new knife. Focusing on getting it out of her pocket, none of the woman's words register in her ears.
Slipping it onto her knuckles, she wastes no time swinging her fist at the woman's temple. Caught off guard, distracted by her own monologue, her body falls to the side.
Naomi pushes herself up, moving towards her and delivering another blow to render her unconscious. Sitting back, panting heavily, she looks up just in time to see a hunter trying to get closer to Jensen with a syringe in hand.
Pushing herself forward, Naomi moves from a crawl to a low crouch - Extending the blade as she moves. Deciding she was close enough, she runs at him, remarkably without getting his attention as all his focus was on Jensen's wolf - who was fighting off two.
Lunging at the man, she embeds her little blade into his thigh, twisting and yanking it out out switlt. Following the attack with a brass-knuckled punch to the head - knocking him to the floor. Dropping on top of him, she delivers another punch, wanting him knocked out and incapacitated.
Looking behind her, she witnesses Jensen sink his teeth into the neck of a hunter, cutting off the man's scream with an audible crunch that sent shivers down her spine.
Letting the limp body fall out of his jaw, she watches as the large canines latch onto the arm of a female hunter - Ripping the limb from her body with ease. A dry heave escapes Naomi as she turns away from the scene, bile rising in her throat.
~
The final sound of a sickening crunch signals the end of the fight as the place falls silent. No more growling, crunching of bones, or pain-filled screams sounding around her.
Turning to look around, Naomi manages to catch the last few seconds of Jensen's shift back to human - a captivating and unnerving sight she couldn't fully understand.
Looking at his face, she takes in the abundance of blood around his jaw and neck. He lets his eyes return to their normal state as he walks to her. The two stare in silence at each other, Jensen speaking up first, his voice hesitant as Naomi's eyes did not stray from his bloodied face.
"Are you... okay?" He begins softly as if he were afraid she'd freak, "It's all over now..." He continues hesitantly.
"Talk to me. What's going on inside your head? Are you okay?" He asks worriedly.
"You're kind of nude.." Naomi whispers after a couple of seconds, a loud genuine laugh escaping Jensen in response.
"I have clothes in the trunk," He informs her still, laughter in his voice mixed with tones of relief.
"What do we do now?" Naomi asks, her eyes scanning what's surely a crime scene.
"I know someone who I can call. He'll help us out." Jensen answers as he goes to the car for his spare clothes.
"Those two are still alive. They've seen our faces..."
"He'll deal with all of that," Jensen says, interrupting her, "And we won't question it."
"Right," Naomi says with a nod. It sounded sinister, but then again, nothing about the situation was anything but.
She faintly hears Jensen on the phone as she stares at the bodies and dismembered limbs around them. Never had she imagined finding herself in such a situation, the irony of her career revolving around saving lives.
"Let's get out of here," Jensen says, holding her by her shoulders, leading her to the car.
"Shouldn't we wait... until your friend gets here?" Naomi asks curiously, her eyes still on the bodies before them.
"We don't have to. Stop worrying. Everything is under control, I promise you." Jensen replies, opening the passenger side door for her.
~
The two of them sit in silence as Jensen drives them away from the massacre. Naomi could tell Jensen was still a bit on edge, his hands holding the steering in a grip firmer than necessary - probably waiting for her to freak out at some point.
She knew he was giving her time to think, and although her mind was running a million thoughts per minute, the silence was beginning to bother her. Reaching forward, she turns on the radio, surfing through the channels for something to listen to. She didn't have the energy for a conversation, so a song would have to be enough to fill the void.
Stopping at the familiar words of a classic, she leans back into her seat. On the radio, a song her mother frequently sang to her and Kai when they were little - Its lyrics resonate with her as they drive through the city.
A glance at Jensen brings a small smile to her face as she turns back to the window, eyes drifting to the bright glowing moon once more - The woman's soothing voice playing in the background of her thoughts. 'Oh, dream maker, you heartbreaker. Wherever you're going, I'm going your way....'
~
A/N
One of my absolute fav chapters. 🤗💖