River's P.O.V.
Stormy and I hid alongside the wall of the safehouse, planning how we were gonna make it to the armored trucks.
"We can just use the trees to shield us from everyone. The shadows will hide us." Stormy suggested.
"No, the trees are still too close to the trucks. If we happen to get caught we're dead. We have to just make a run for it through the middle."
"We're even more exposed if we do that."
"Yea but at least we'll have Mathias and Rex covering us. If we go through the trees then we wont and anything could go wrong."
"Are you sure about this River?"
"Nope. But its our best bet."
He checked to see if his gun was loaded then took a deep breath. "Lets do it then."
We carefully looked around the corner to see just how many people we were up against.
There were at least 120.
"We're dead." Said Stormy. "We're already dead and we haven't even ran out there yet.
"Stormy stop worrying." I replied. "Getting to the trucks is the easy part. Getting out however is the hard part."
"Well lets not waste time talking then."
"One more thing." I began. "If either one of us gets taken out trying to get to those trucks, we wont stop. Meaning if I get shot down you will not stop to help me. Peter is our main priority."
"But Mathias said-"
"Whatever Mathias said wont matter 2 hours from now when he's dead because you decided to try to save my ass instead of killing Peter."
"Touché..." He replied after thinking about it for a moment.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Do i really have a choice?" He remarked.
We counted to 3 then took off straight towards the trucks.
It felt like we were running through a battlefield.
We didn't shoot our guns not one time because we figured that it'd only slow us down while we ran.
Yet there were still bodies falling all around us.
Every person that came at us was immediately shot down by Mat and Rex.
Then there came a moment when a group of about 7 men charged at us simultaneously.
I knew that Mathias and Rex wouldn't have been able to take them all out with Stormy and I in the way but then again I knew that if we tried dropping to the ground for even a split second we were still in risk of someone else shooting.
But then all of a sudden, as we were getting closer to the men one of them pointed their gun straight at Stormy. Stormy wasnt paying attention and he didn't hear me warn him to get out of the way.
My reflexes immediately kicked in and I tackled Stormy to the ground just as the bullet went flying past his head.
He stared at me in shock.
"I.... Almost... Died..." He managed to say.
"I know." I replied as I pulled him up and we started running again.
Just as I thought we were about to collide with the 7 men, I didn't see them running towards us anymore. In fact all 7 of them were laying on the ground up ahead.
"We totally just cheated death." Stormy remarked.
We made it to the trucks and snuck to the other side of them so that no one could see us.
"Should we split up to find the truck Peter's in?" He asked.
"No way. Splitting up is a very bad idea."
We went into the first truck, weapons ready and aimed, but no one was in there.
This was gonna take a while.
................................................
Cassidy's P.O.V.
"Any luck yet?" I asked Blue as I stood guard at the door to the control room.
He didn't reply so I turned around to see why and noticed that he was literally just staring down at a weird looking machine.
"Staring isn't gonna get us anywhere." I stated.
"I know." He said. "But I don't even know where to start. Like I told Mat, I just got lucky the first time."
"Explain to me what you did last time."
"Well there was a huge structure on the top of the building we did a hit on a few years ago. The structure acted as a magnet. We have one on top of this safehouse as well. I managed to break into the control room there and somehow made it to where the magnet became 10x's stronger. Even strong enough to attract wood."
"Wood? Wood doesn't attract to magnets though."
"If you can manipulate the magnetic field enough, you can attract anything. Even people."
"Well just think about how you did it last time."
"Yea cause that's definitely not what I've been doing for the past three minutes." He replied with sarcasm.
"No I meant try to breakdown the process. Think detail by detail. What makes a magnet stronger?"
"A stronger electromagnetic field."
"What makes an electromagnetic field stronger?"
"A stronger current."
"And what makes a stronger current?"
"A faster flow-rate of electrons.... And to do that...." He looked at me with realization written all over his face. "I need heat! Thank youuuu! I'd kiss you right now if I wasnt gay!"
Holy shit. Ryan was right.
I mentally applauded myself for my amazing contribution then turned to finish guarding the door.
"Okay so, to create a burst of heat I'll need to drastically increase the motion of the atoms and molecules in the pipe leading up to the magnet." He explained to himself.
"Why are you so smart?" I asked.
"I was a rocket scientist before I joined- er uh.... Yea I used to be a rocket scientist."
"That's so awesome. And before you joined what?"
"Oh nothing. The army."
"You were in the army?"
"We all were. Except Stormy, he was a navy seal."
"Interesting..." I knew he wasnt really gonna say 'before I joined the army' but I didn't question it.
Blue then got to work on whatever it was that he was gonna do. I was too busy freaking out about if someone actually came towards the control room. All I heard was gunshots outside and I prayed like hell that the guys would be able to handle the situation.
Blue was working quietly and diligently as if there weren't people outside trying to kill us. Meanwhile I was sweating bullets from fear.
"Why aren't you panicking?" I asked.
"Because..." He began as he kept working. "Why should I?"
"Maybe because there are people outside that want us dead." I stated.
"I'm not afraid to die." He laughed. "If I was afraid to die I would've given up this job years ago. But you see, when you work for Cato, you can't be afraid of death. I knew what I was getting myself into before I joined. Dying doesn't phase me. Because everyday that I survive, I know that the next day I could possibly die simply because I love what I do. We're not bad people. We don't just kill just because someone tells us to. In fact killing is only a last resort. We hate doing it. But we know that we're saving lives when we're doing it. We aren't hitmen. We Dont get paid to take people out. We work for an organization full of good people."
"Then what are you?"
"Just think of us as a mixture of the swat team and ninjas."
I giggled at his response. "Whatever you say."
He chuckled as well then stopped suddenly as he looked up at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Do you hear that?"
I listened carefully to see what he was talking about but I couldn't hear anything.
"No..." I retorted.
"Exactly. The gunshots stopped."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
Then I heard the sudden burst of glass.
"It means it worked." He replied. "They dont have their guns anymore. But now they're getting into the house."
"Wait but doesn't that mean our guys dont have their guns?"
"No. We built our guns with our own hands. And we built them specifically so that no amount of magnetic force can of affect them."
I heard more glass break and the sound of unfamiliar voices.
"What do we do?!" I asked while freaking out.
"The first place they're gonna come is here. You have to leave."
"You mean we have to leave."
"No, I have to make sure this thing doesn't crash or else we wont stand a chance."
"Then I'm staying too."
"No its too dangerous. Get out of here."
I just stood there. I didn't know what to do.
"Now!" He demanded.
I hesitated but did as he told me. I made my way down the hallway and towards the bunkers where the kids were.
Before I could get to the door, a group of men ran up to it from the opposite direction and immediately started trying to pry it open.
They must've captured Mathias and Rex.... Or killed them.
My mind went blank.
I didn't know what to do.
I wasn't gonna run because the kids needed my help but how the hell was I supposed to take out all 15 men trying to pry open the bunker door.
Think Cassidy think...
As I began to raise my gun, someone whispered in my ear from behind me.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
That voice.... It sounded so familiar....
I lowered my gun and turned to face the source of the voice.
When I saw who it was I nearly fainted.
"Hello Cassidy." He said. "Did you forget who I am already? I'm-"
"Mark. I know..." I replied.
"You are correct."
"Why are you here?"
"To kill you all of course silly." He laughed.
"But- Peter said that he doesn't work for you."
"He doesn't. In fact he still wanted to kill me just a few hours ago. But we made an agreement."
He took a step closer to me. The look he had in his eyes was murderous and vicious. Yet he was still smiling.
"What do you want from me?" I asked as I felt myself trembling in fear.
"I already told you. But there is a way you can get out of this."
"How?"
"Kill River."
My heart dropped. No way.
"No."
"Well then I guess you can die with him. Leave your children as orphans. They won't remember a thing about either of you."
"I'm not killing River."
I heard footsteps running towards us from the way of the control room.
"Blue, no!" I yelled trying to warn him but he kept coming.
Mark grabbed me and held my gun up to my head as Blue turned the corner.
He stopped in his tracks when he saw Mark and pointed his weapon at him.
"Well hi there Josiah." Mark greeted.
"Its Blue." Blue replied.
"Yes but I'd rather call you by your birth name. Its more polite. Go ahead and lower your weapon."
"How about you drop yours first." Said Blue.
"You think I'm stupid?" Asked Mark.
"Yes."
Mark laughed and pressed the end of the gun harder against the side of my head. "Drop it. Now."
"I'm pretty sure I can pull a trigger a lot quicker than you can."
"That's probably true. Except you don't know when I'm gonna pull it. This isn't about who pulls it the fastest. Its about who pulls it first. Now lay your gun on the ground or I'll kill her."
Blue held it up a few seconds longer but then lowered it and tossed it on the ground.
"Now was that so hard?" Mark asked.
"You got what you wanted. Let Cassidy go, she has nothing to do with this."
"Oh but she does. She's here. With a gun. You mean to tell me that she accidentally showed up here and someone accidentally gave her a gun?"
Suddenly another man grabbed Blue and threw handcuffs on him.
"She has nothing to do with this." Blue repeated. "Just take me. Leave her alone."
"Josiah, Josiah, Josiah.... You know we can't do that."
"Great." I mumbled.
..................................................
River's P.O.V.
After checking the 6th truck we still didn't have any luck finding Peter.
"What if he's not even in one of these?" Asked Stormy.
"He is." I replied.
We snuck over to the next one and as I was about to pick the lock on it i heard a gun click.
Stormy and I turned around and saw 4 men aiming at us.
"What do you two pricks think you're doing?" One of them asked.
"Oh we were just uh- just- we thought this was our truck but apparently it isn't so we'll just get going now." Said Stormy.
He tried to walk away but a guy grabbed him and slammed him up against the truck.
"Bad move." I mumbled.
Stormy stared at the man in disbelief then not even 2 seconds later he grabbed the guy's arm, twisted it, disarmed his weapon from his hand, and shot all 4 of the men. It happened so fast that the men couldn't react.
"Told you." I mumbled again.
The door to the truck then opened and Peter stuck his head out. When he saw us he quickly tried to close it again but I ran and caught it before he could.
I pulled it open as Stormy and I rushed inside.
We pointed our guns at him as he did the same, standing towards the back of the truck with an automatic rifle pointed straight at us.
Tommy was tied up behind Peter with an expression of utter boredom. "About time."
"Drop it Peter." I demanded.
"No. You both drop yours and get down on your knees."
"You're at a disadvantage here. There's two against one. Put the gun down."
"No you're at a disadvantage. If you kill me my men will kill you."
"Don't be stupid Peter." Tommy remarked.
"We don't wanna kill you." I said.
"Speak for yourself." Stormy replied. "This idiot is making me miss the new episode of the walking dead that came out tonight. And for that he's not leaving here alive."
I looked at him as if he was stupid.
"I'm dead ass serious." He continued.
I rolled my eyes then turned my attention back to Peter.
"You say you don't wanna kill me... Why is that? I know you River Carson. I know that you've killed many people before. Why is it now that you don't wanna kill me?"
"I don't kill just to kill. You've given me no reason to kill you. You haven't tried to kill me yet. You haven't tried to kill anyone that I love yet."
"My men are outside attempting to shoot down your friends right now. You do have a reason."
"No, I only have a reason to kill your men. They're the ones shooting."
"Under MY orders."
"YOUR MEN are still the ones pulling the triggers. Not you. You're just sitting in this truck like the coward you are."
"Coward? Me? If anything you're the coward."
"How so?" I asked curiously.
"Because, when you get angry you go on a rampage and hurt people. Instead of trying to control it you just let it consume you. Only weak people let their anger consume them. Only cowards hurt people because they fail to control their own emotions."
"Is that so?"
"Very much so."
"River can we just kill this prick already? He's getting on my nerves."
"No. Cato's gonna want to talk to him."
"Mathias said to kill him."
"Mathias wasn't thinking."
"Cato's going to be dead within the next hour or so anyways so it really doesn't matter."
"I hate to burst your bubble..." I began. "But Cato isn't here."
Peter's smug demeanor changed entirely.
He turned and looked at Tommy then began fuming.
"You brought me here! You said he was here!"
"I lied fuckface. People do lie."
I took ahold of my opportunity and grabbed Peter, putting him in a chokehold before he could react.
He dropped his weapon as a result and Stormy quickly grabbed it.
I threw him to ground and threw a pair of handcuffs on him
"You're not getting away with this." He stated.
"Seems like we already have." I responded.
"Not necessarily. This was merely a distraction."
Stormy and I looked at eachother in confusion then back at Peter.
"You two were just too dumb to realize it."
"What are you talking about?" Asked Stormy.
"Well, I knew that if I stayed inside of a truck, Mathias would send some of you to kill me. I also knew that one of the people he sent would be you so I decided to in fact stay in the truck. So that you would come here. And be out of the way of what's happening in the house."
"What's happening in the house?" Tommy asked.
"Lets just say that Mark and I made an agreement."
Tommy and Stormy looked at me.
Everything within me tensed up.
My hands began to shake.
I became disoriented.
A massive migraine hit out of no where making it feel as if my head was pounding.
"Mark.... Mark's in the house... Right now?" I managed to ask through erratic breaths.
"Yep. And I'm willing to bet that Cassidy doesn't have what it takes to kill him.
I could feel sweat dripping down my face.
My heart was racing.
I turned to leave out of the truck but Stormy grabbed my arm.
"No." He said as he stared me in the eyes.
"I- I have to." I insisted. "I have to."
"River you're having a panic attack. You're not gonna make it across that field without passing out."
"I'm going." I stated.
"Fine. But I'm going with you."
"N- no stay here with Peter.You have t- you have to make sure he doesn't escape."
"I can't let you do this."
I yanked my arm away from him then left without saying another word.
..................................................
Cassidy's P.O.V.
"What are you doing?" I asked Blue.
Mark had locked us in the basement with our handcuffs still on us and left.
We'd been in there for a good 10 minutes while he and another men were trying to break into the bunker to get to the kids.
"I'm trying to get out of these." He replied.
"But you dont have the key..."
"I dont need one."
Seconds later I heard a click then the sound of the handcuffs falling to the floor.
"Wow." I mumbled.
He ran over to me and took mine off which was extremely relieving considering mine were tight as hell.
"Stay here. I'll be back."
"Where are you going?"
"I can't let them get to the kids."
"You can't go by yourself. Mark's gonna catch you."
"No he wont. There's another way into the bunker that's hidden. I just have to get in there before Mark does."
He walked up to a wall then felt around it. Eventually he came upon a long brick and pulled it out of the wall revealing a handful of guns.
He took one then handed me one.
"Here, just in case."
He slowly opened the door and peeked out then quietly made his way out.
Not even 30 seconds after the door closed it opened again.
But it wasnt Blue.
I gulped and took steps backward as the gun fell out of my hand.
"Oh wow. That was stupid." Mark laughed. "You and River are two completely different people. River sees me and he's ready to kill me with his bare hands. You see me and you make the stupid, stupid, move of dropping the only weapon you have. You're clearly not very smart but at least you're pretty. So you have something going for you."
"I'm smart enough to know that you're an asshole."
"Ooooh dumb but feisty. My kinda girl."
"Call me dumb again and you'll see just how feisty I am."
He stared at me blankly then bursted out laughing.
"Dont try to fool me. I can see right through this 'tough girl' act you're putting on."
"Its not an act."
"Yes it is."
"How would you know?"
"Because you're trembling like a Chihuahua."
"Doesn't mean anything. River shakes whenever he talks to you too. But he's not afraid of you."
"I know he's not afraid of me. He shakes because I trigger his temper. You're shaking because you fear me. You think I'm gonna hurt you. Which I am but I want River to see it so I'm gonna wait."
"Why? There has to be another way. You dont have to hurt anyone. Just like River doesn't have to kill you. You two can resolve this a different way."
"If I keep him alive he'll expose Blairwood."
"No he wont! He hasnt said anything to anyone all these years so what makes you think he's gonna say something now!? He didn't even wanna tell me about ! His dad didnt even know!"
"I can't risk it. And besides, he and his friends took ALL of my kids. Do you really think the government is just gonna let me get away with the fact that over 100 kids just disappeared out of no where? And I know they're not gonna bring the kids back to Blairwood. So I have no choice but to kill them all..... Starting with you first."
He pulled out a switchblade and slowly started to approach me.
"Dont resist. You'll only make it worse."
I backed up until my back was up against the wall.
"Sucks that I have to kill such a pretty girl. I might actually feel bad about this later."
He got so close that I could feel his breath.
"River's gonna kill you." I said through the tears now flowing down my face.
"Probably. Though regardless I've still won. Even if I dont get to kill him."
"How?"
"Lets just say I have men in Colorado."
My eyes widened in fear.
"No....." I said in shock.
"Oh yea." He smiled. "Nice knowing you."
Right as he brought the blade up to my neck someone grabbed him and threw him to the wall.
He slammed his head pretty hard and slid down to the ground as blood dripped from the back of his head.
River pointed his gun at Mark's head as Mark started to laugh again.
"Wow." He retorted. "Superman has come to the rescue once again. You know, I was just getting to know your little damsel in distress."
"Shut up." River said through gritted teeth.
"We're so much alike you know that right?"
"I'm nothing like you."
"But you are. Because when you kill me you're gonna be just as bad as I am."
"You deserve to die."
"Just as much as you do." Mark shot back.
Suddenly Mathias and Stormy ran in.
"Kill him River." Said Stormy.
"You heard the man." Mark added. "Though I already know that you're not gonna kill me. I mean to much to you."
"Bullshit." River stated.
"Its true. I MADE you. I crafted you into the man you are today. I'M the reason why you're not afraid of anything. I'M the reason why you dont take shit from anyone. I'M the reason why you do any and everything to protect those you love."
"You're also the reason why Reese is dead. And why I'm not mentally stable. And why I have more medical conditions than an 80 year old man. And why I fear for my family's lives everyday. And why I hardly ever sleep. And why I've killed people.... Need I continue?"
"Why haven't you pulled the trigger yet? Kill me."
River didnt respond. Instead his hands began shaking as he held the gun to Mark's head.
"Kill me!" Mark demanded.
Still no response.
"KILL ME!!!!!"
River cocked the gun.
But just as I thought he was about to pull the trigger.... He lowered his gun.
He stood staring at Mark. Attempting to catch his breath.
"I can't." He softly stated. "I can't."
"River..." Said Mathias.
"No. I can't do this anymore. I'm tired of killing."
He dropped the gun and stepped away from it.
"I can't."
Mark smiled.
"You're definitely gonna wanna kill me within the next 30 minutes."
As he said that Cato and a group of other men walked into the basement. One handcuffed Mark and pulled him up to his feet.
"Get him out of here." Cato stated.
He walked up to River and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I should've done it." River said. "I should've ended it."
"But you didnt." Cato replied. "Its hard to take a life. But it requires true strength to spare the life of even your worst enemy."
He turned and walked out as I ran up to River and hugged him.
"You did the right thing." I whispered.
Suddenly my phone started to ring and I took it out to see that Riley was calling me.
"Riley, now's not the time." I stated. "I'll call you when I get home."
I was about to hang up until I heard sniffing and his breath shaking.
"Riley, are you okay?"
He said something but his voice kept breaking and was too airy.
I put him on speaker to see if that would help.
"Whats wrong? Why are you crying?"
It got quiet on the other end for a a while until he spoke up and broke my heart with just two words.
"Xander's dead."