Rachel walked a fair distance behind Natalie as they entered the woods. It wasn't far to the meeting place, but it was far enough that they wouldn't be seen or followed from the town. They didn't want to take a single chance they'd be interrupted or anyone would get caught in the crossfire.
"Are you going to stop us?" Rachel asked. After there wasn't a response for a few moments, she continued. "You have to see there's no other way now. After what he did at the Summit, and that announcement to the town?" Rachel's voice caught in her throat as she kept going. "After what she did to Will?"
"Stop," Beverly whispered.
"He's a monster. He's not the guy you used to know."
"I guess I just didn't know him all that well," she murmured.
Rachel felt a tiny spark of optimism. "So you'll help us?"
"...I won't stop you."
Rachel sighed. It would have to be enough. She couldn't persuade Beverly to kill the man she loved, no matter how horrible a person he might be. Moreover, she still felt like she was treading on thin ice with the blackmail she held. It was certainly enough to get Beverly to protect her for the time being, but could she keep it going? Couldn't Beverly just interfere the next time she logged into her email? The moment she let her guard down for even a second, Beverly could block it and her leverage would be gone.
Rachel wondered what Beverly might do to her in revenge. She took some small comfort in that—no matter the consequences she might face—Beverly wasn't the type to go after loved ones. Will would be safe.
Rachel desperately wanted to call and make sure he was all right, but she hadn't gotten a number for him. She knew the hospital he was staying at, but they had no official, on-paper connection. The hospital refused to even acknowledge that he was a patient to her, citing privacy policy.
"Son of a bitch!" came a shout as they rounded the corner to the meeting spot. Gwen and Natalie were leading the way, as usual, and they still managed to shock a few people with every appearance. In this case, it was Jerry Hauserman, the other man Julian had sent to help them.
"Keep it down, idiot," snapped Ryan. He hopped to his feet and tossed aside a stick. At the sight of Rachel, he threw a lazy half-hearted salute. "Hail, cap'n."
"All ready here?" Rachel asked.
"I mean, we didn't have much to do," said Ryan. "We're pretty much just here to keep him busy until the nuke goes off, right?"
"Right." Rachel nodded. "I'm open to ideas on how to do that. I'm not really used to this sort of thing."
"Well, none o' us are, thank god," Rufus added. "I mean, I've done plenny of huntin', but I never been the hunt'd."
"Clever man's got the clever words," said Spencer, getting to his feet. Rachel noticed a couple odd piles of pine cones scattered by the tree. "I think it's simple. Every time you've fought him, he's used his golems or his speed, right?"
"He can do something with fire too, when he wants to," put in Alden. "I tried that and he just vanished it like nothing."
"Yeah, but he didn't attack with it," said Rika. "Guy's on to something." She grinned. "Thanks for volunteering to be out front, by the way."
Rachel frowned. "Is that really necessary?"
Spencer shrugged. "She's right, I'm out in front. Fair n' square. Don't worry, I can handle it." He glanced at Rika. "You owe me a drink afterward though."
"Deal."
"If he's attacking with golems or with his own fists, I can take a punch," Spencer said firmly. "So long as we don't end up in a straight out fight, I think I'll be okay. Just be ready to pop him as soon as you get the chance."
"And what are the rest of us supposed to do?" asked Jerry.
"Run like a little girl," said Ryan. He didn't get the laugh he'd obviously expected from his expression.
"...I think you mean run like a little Ryan," said Rika.
Spencer laughed. "The first 'little girl' that comes to mind is the one sitting on the wolf over there." Natalie was barely paying attention, having pulled out her phone again to play a game.
"I'm not runnin' anyway, I'm not a coward," said Jerry.
"Running really is the plan," said Rachel. "He comes, you run. As long as you run past where Rika's hiding, you're good. We don't need you to actually fight him, we just need him to get close to Rika so she can lock him down."
"And then Our Lady of the Grey blows him up," added Rika.
"Someone's gonna blow up?" asked Natalie.
"No," said Rachel. "No one's going to explode."
"Oh. Okay." Thankfully, Natalie sounded relieved, or Rachel might be concerned. She already felt anxious that Natalie's childhood was so chaotic and abnormal. Unlike the rest of the five, Natalie wasn't an adult. Her mind wasn't fully developed. The girl could be easily influenced by any number of factors—and Rachel feared what someone that powerful could turn into if pushed in the wrong direction too many times.
"So we're splitting up even more?" Spencer asked, smoke puffing out from his mouth. "Gonna be barely anyone left in the group at this rate."
Rachel nodded. "The longer he's out here trying to kill one of us, the more chances Rika has to catch him."
"How's that supposed to work, anyway?"
"Trade secret," Rika replied. "Just trust me."
"Not in a million years," said Ryan.
"Trust me, then," said Rachel. Ryan looked about to argue again. Alden nudged him desperately, and to her surprise Ryan fell silent. Rachel shot him a grateful look.
They didn't have much time left.